The Beginning of the End
by Angelic Sword
Summary: Follow a caravan from Tipa as they journey through the world to protect their village from the deadly miasma. Through love, hate, monsters-and each other-will they survive? Editted: Chapters 1-8
1. Chapter 1:Starting out

**Yay! Finally my story is completely edited! All the chapters have been edited and posted! It is much better and more understandable then previously, and it is ultimately a better story. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I do NOT own final fantasy crystal chronicles, I don't even have the game, I just played it at my cousins and fell in love with it.**

**(Sorry if I get some of the facts wrong!)**

Chapter 1: Starting Out

_Kristine (Kris) is a 15-year-old shark-eyes selkie with great physical attributes. She is the Merchant's daughter and is one of the richest families in town. She speaks her mind when she feels it will make a difference. She is intelligent and skilled in magic._

The sun danced on Kris's face. She opened her eyes to realize that she was going to go on a crystal caravan today. Reluctantly she got out of her warm bed and grabbed the clothes she had laid out the night before and got dressed. She grabbed the bag she had packed full of supplies and tried to creep down the stairs as quietly as she could to avoid her siblings, who were hopefully still sleeping.

Too late. She hit a VERY loud creek in the steps.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Kris turned around slowly to see her little sister, Sarah, who was 7, pouting on a higher step. "Were you going to leave without saying good-bye to me?"

"And ME?" Joshua, her 17-year-old brother, said, appearing at the top of the stairs.

"Nnnnnnno…" Kris hesitated, looking for a good excuse. "I was just coming down to get some breakfast, and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Oh. OK!" Sara said, seeming happy with her excuse.

"Unnhunnn…" Joshua said, already knowing she was just saying something to make Sara happy. Regardless, they all went downstairs to get some breakfast that their mother had prepared for them.

"Kris, your father and I are so proud of you!" her mother gushed as Kris finished her breakfast.

"We sure are." Her father stated as he walked into the house with Kris's new racket.

"And you're not proud of me? I'm the one taking over the family business!" Joshua joked.

"Of course we are son!" He turned his attention back to Kris. "But before you go we want to give you a few things."

First of all, Kris got a new dual shooter. Then she obtained a pouch containing 1000 gil. Lastly she got a silver chained necklace with a pendant bearing the selkie tribe symbol. The pendant had a small mold in it, waiting for a gem to be put there.

"Thank-you." Kris said honestly. "Bye!" She said as she walked out the front door. "Don't forget to write!"

"BYE!" Her family yelled.

And with that she headed to the crystal in the center of town.

­

_Tyran is a 15-year-old natural clavat who is a natural born leader. He is strong and wise in battle. He is the Blacksmith's son and proud of it. He is a big showoff when it comes to things he knows people already admire._

Tyran woke up after being yelled at by his mother for the thousandth time that morning.

"I'm up! I'm up!" He yelled back down to her. He pulled on his clothes and finished packing, then went downstairs to see a big breakfast laid out before him.

"Before you eat we have something to give you." His mother said, gesturing to his father, who was failing to hide something behind his back.

"Here, son." He held out the finest sword and shield he had ever seen.

The sword was long with a blade that could chop down a tree with one stroke. It had a smooth surface and was golden all but around the edges. It was light and easy to handle even for a toddler. In it was etched the name _Excalibur, _while the shield was light weight but very durable, being forged from orichalcum, and had a large clavat symbol on it.

"Oh! Mom, Dad, you didn't have to!" Tyran said in amazement, taking _Excalibur_ and the _Chocobo Shield_.

"We just want to make sure you and the rest of the caravan is safe son." His father announced.

"Well, thank you in every way." Tyran knew that even though his father didn't know it, he was thinking about that awful day about 4 years ago. Tyran stopped himself from remembering any further. That was then, this is now. He couldn't linger in the past forever, and he was joining the caravan so no one else he loved got hurt.

He quickly finished eating and headed out towards the crystal. There, he saw Kris sitting idly on the steps in front of the large, sparkling blue crystal.

­

_Mike is a 15-year-old cowlick clavat who is very shy but very kind. He dislikes conflict though will fight if necessary or if for a good cause. He is the Alchemist's son and is respectful to others. He is Tyran's best friend, and looks upon him as a sort of older brother he never had. He moved to Tipa when he was 7, and he and Tyran have been friends ever since. He likes Kris._

"Wake UP! Wake UP! Wake UP Mike!!" Diane, Mike's little sister, said, jumping on his bed.

Mike glared at her, "I AM up. I've been UP ever since you started jumping on my bed 5 minutes ago! And I've been telling you that I AM up, ever since you started! Now, if you don't mind, can you get off my bed so I can start getting ready for the caravan?" Mike said, annoyed.

"OK." She hopped off his bed, "But if you're not down in 10 minutes, I'm commin' back up!" and with that she stomped down the stairs.

'Uhg, such a pain.' Mike thought as he pulled on his clothes. He then ran downstairs with 3 minutes to spare, much to Diane's delight, and ate breakfast.

"Hello son." His father said, dropping a bag of 300 gil in front of him. "I've grabbed your sword and shield from the shed. They're waiting outside for you when you're ready for them."

"Thanks dad. I think I'll go now. I've already made sure I have everything, I've eaten, and now I have my equipment. So-" He was cut off by his mother.

"You're not going anywhere until you say good-bye to everyone, or this!" She said, holding something out to him.

He took it, realizing it was a handkerchief woven from mythril silk. It was black, and had a red border with golden clavat symbols within the border. He recognized the handkerchief because his great-great-grandmother made it.

"Thank-you!" He said as he tied it securely around his neck. "I'll always keep it with me."

Before he headed out the door, he said good-bye to his parents, Diane, and his older 18-year-old sister, Karen.

When he approached the crystal he saw Tyran and Kris sitting next to each other having a conversation. Mike knew Tyran might have just used Kris as a replacement before, but now they were friends, but weren't nearly as close as Mike and him.

'This is going to be the greatest caravan ever.'

­

_Rob is a 15-year-old Wolfie selkie who likes Kris and makes sure she knows it. He does anything he can to get close to her, no matter the consequences. He is the Fisherman's son and his only direct relatives are his father and brother, for his mother died of an illness years ago. He has liked Kris ever since she moved next to him 4 years ago._

Rob rolled over in his bed. It was getting late, and the caravan would be leaving in half an hour. He wasn't even sure if he was going. 'Maybe I'll just stay here and sleep.' He thought. He hasn't even packed, and he would have to rush if he decided to go now.

"Little bro, you're gonna be late." Jackson, his 19-year-old brother, said as he looked out the window.

"Who said I was going?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I would want to go on this particular caravan, especially since it would mean spending years together with a beautiful woman…" He said, glancing at Rob.

"WHAT?!" Rob said, racing over to the window. There, in front of his house was the town crystal, and sitting at it was the beautiful Kris. "Why didn't you tell me SHE was going on the caravan?!"

"She just showed up. Now if I were you, I would put some clothes on and start packing. I'll get your racket." Jackson then went downstairs.

Quickly Rob put on his purple outfit and stuffed his bag with anything he thought he would need.

He ran downstairs and ate a striped apple for breakfast. He grabbed a bag of 300 gil and his fishing pole from his father. He then said good-bye to his father and brother, said he would write, and headed out the door. He then walked to the town crystal, seeing Roland approaching the 3 people already sitting there.

'This is going to be great.' He thought. '1 hot selkie and 2 spineless clavats.' He then sat down on Kris's right side, away from the clavats.

"Helllooooooo beautiful!" He said to her.

­

"Is this everybody?" Mike asked Tyran as he sat down next to him.

"Is that all you have?" Tyran asked, ignoring the question and instead focused on Mike's copper sword and makeshift shield.

"Um, yeah. This is what we had." Mike said, blinking as Tyran made his sword catch the sunlight.

"MY parents gave me this sword and shield as a parting gift. What did they give you?"

"Um, my parents gave me this." He said, pulling the cloth from his neck to show him. "It was woven by my great-great-grandmother from mythril silk."

"Oh." Tyran said, putting the equipment down.

Suddenly they heard 2 doors slam one right after the other. One was owned by Roland, and the other by Kris's neighbor, Rob.

"Helllooooooo beautiful!" He sat down next to her, his comment doing just about everything except flatter her.

"Wow, still as desperate as usual, hunh Rob?" Kris smirked.

Rob didn't have time to respond before Roland came up.

"Caravanners," He said, causing them to stand. "Today you set off on a journey to protect your village, your home. Allow me to explain your mission. You are to take this-" He paused to hand Mike the crystal chalice. "-And gather myrrh from the myrrh trees growing in all parts of the world. You're also to record your journey in this-" he paused again to hand Kris an oversized book, "-to remember your journey in full. Now! Go and seek the water of life. Your wagon is waiting at the entrance of the village. Oh!" He said, stopping them dead in their tracks. "Before you go you must choose a leader."

"I'll be leader." Rob said with his hand slightly raised.

"Haha! Right! I don't think so!" Kris exclaimed, then she and Mike looked over at Tyran.

"Sure, I'll be leader." Tyran smiled as Mike and Kris shook their heads vigorously.

"It's settled. Tyran will be the leader of this caravan unless chosen otherwise at a later time." Roland assumed.

Then they went to the caravan and got a good look at it. It was OLD. It had 2 sets of bunk beds with thin, dusty, worn mattresses that were only about three inches thick. The bunks on the left side of the caravan were 2x large than the ones on the right. The selkies took the ones on the left, with Kris on top and Rob underneath, while Tyran was on the top bunk on the right and Mike on the bottom one. The roof had worn wooden planks with large gaps between them.

After they stowed their supplies and belongings in the wagon, they took off with Tyran at the reigns, Mike walking next to him, Rob inside the caravan sleeping, and Kris sitting on the backseat.

Looking out over the town, Kris waved to her friends who were engaged in a heated conversation. They looked up, smiled, and waved as the caravan left.

'This is gonna be fun.'

**All right, I hope you liked my semi-edited first chapter of my first fanfic. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and I thank Master of Omega for reviewing previously. **


	2. Chapter 2:On the Road

**Yay, they're actually starting!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles**

Chapter 2: On the Road

"Do you think I could go on the roof?" Kris asked after about an hour's silence.

"It depends. Will it hold?" Tyran said from the front seat.

Kris looked at the wood with tarps bundled up on the sides. "I think so."

"Then go for it." Tyran said.

Kris easily hoisted herself on the roof, lying down on the sun-warmed boards.

Rob woke up from his nap, realizing Kris was on the roof. He stood up, and being the tallest of the 4 there was only a couple of inches between his head and the roof.

"How much longer until we get to River Belle?" He asked Tyran.

Tyran looked behind him at Rob, "Until we get more experienced in battle, we have to take all the longest, safest routes possible, so it will take about 1 more day."

"Dang. This is so boring." Rob grumbled.

'Great. I get to travel with probably the laziest selkie in the world. At least I have Mike; and maybe it's possible that Kris and I will become better friends, possibly even like with...' Tyran shook off the rest of his thought. 'It has been almost four years Tyran; knock it off. No one, not even Mike could be that close to me.'

They rode on for a couple more hours, stopped for a quick lunch break, then rode on until dinner, which Kris volunteered to cook.

"OK, Mike, go get some firewood, but stay within the circle. Tyran, you find something to start a fire with. And Rob, stop starring at me and gut the fish. I'll prepare the meat." Kris commanded, and everyone went on with their assigned jobs. "And don't even try to weasel your way out of your job, Rob! I know you're the fisherman's son and can gut a fish perfectly well!" Kris said, thinking that he was going to try to get out of his job like at lunch. Rob just continued to gut the 2 fish, making sure he did a good job to try to impress her, while Kris threw many different seasonings on the meat.

When Mike returned with firewood, she assembled it under the grilling rack she had set up and laid the meat on it.

Finally Tyran returned. "I found some flint."

"Sweet, that will come in handy. Good thing we have you, hunh?" Kris remarked.

"Of course!" Tyran kidded. He handed Kris the metal, and with a knife started a fire. Soon after, the fish was perfectly cooked, and soon after the steak.

They complimented her on the meal, and after they cleaned up they sat around the fire in conversation.

"Someone needs to stand guard tonight." Mike stated, changing the subject from the reality that they wouldn't be able to acquire a million gil for a phoenix down and onto protection.

"What do you mean?" Kris asked.

"He means to protect us from monsters tonight." Tyran supplied.

"Then who's it gonna be?" Rob asked as he lay on his stomach, facing the fire.

"How about you? You were sleeping in the caravan all day, you do it." Kris said.

"No I didn't! I did a lot of other things too!" Rob said, thinking of how he had gone through everyone's things, though not stealing anything that would have been noticeable, which was everything at that point.

"Oh, yeah! You also ate everything and weaseled out of your jobs!" Tyran exclaimed.

"Come on guys, leave him alone." Kris said, looking over at Rob, who smiled. "He probably wouldn't do a very good job anyway!" The smile faded. "I think Tyran should do it. He's the leader, and the leader is supposed to protect us."

The others nodded.

"Fine! I'll do it! As long as Kris does it tomorrow!"

Kris smiled "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fine; I'd have to do it eventually, so might as well do it tomorrow!"

Then they put out the fire, though leaving a torch for Tyran.

-:-

Tyran sat on the back seat, keeping watch. He had fought it for so long, but now the memories came back clear as day.

_Flashback 3 1/2years_

"_Dad, can we go out in the wheat fields and train?" A 12-year-old Tyran asked, with an equally aged girl standing by him._

"_Hm, I'd rather you stay closer." The father stated. _

"_It's not that far! Besides, the wheat is at its tallest point now before they cut it down, and it'll be great training for the caravan! AND we'll wear armor so we can't hurt each other!" The girl complained._

"_The caravan is more than 3 years away." He pointed out._

"_All the more reason for us to prepare for it!" Tyran said hopefully. _

_*sigh* "Well I guess there is nothing I can do hunh? Man, when you and Tyran get an idea in your head, I swear there is nothing I can do but to let you do it. Go ahead, just be back before dinner."_

"_Yes!" The twins yelled in unison. _

_15 minutes later the twins were happily at play in the wheat fields. Each was equipped with a short sword and were both equally dull from over-use. There was a soft ocean breeze blowing from the south, rustling the golden plant. The young girl giggled as she disappeared into the wheat and her twin chased her shadow. She ran until they had left the wheat fields and entered a grassy plain, and they collapsed near where the first sprouts of wheat had shot out of the ground._

"_Oops, I dropped my pendent." The girl said._

"_Don't worry, I'll find it." Tyran disappeared into the wheat._

"_Tyran!!!" She screeched. "Get Dad, quick!"_

"_Wait, what?" He started to head back to her. Suddenly, a Selkic man jumped in front of him wearing a mask, displaying a long, sharp dagger._

"_You're not going anywhere, kid. Now give me everything you have on you!" _

_Tyran started to run, trying to hide in the wheat, but the armor slowed him greatly. The same man appeared in front of him again. Tyran took off the armor he was wearing and chucked it at the man, hurling him to the ground, also knocking his mask off._

"_Why you little…!" _

_Tyran got a quick glimpse of his face before he ran as fast as he could back to his house, dropping his sword, which was a burden, on the way and yelled to his father. "Dad! Help! Bandits! Ha-" His dad raced out of the house at lightning speed, brandishing a golden sword given the name 'Excalibur'. Tyran followed him to the field._

_When they arrived about a quarter of a mile away from the wheat field, the bandit was gone. All that remained, in a pool of blood, was a young girls body, her clothing and skin stained red._

"_H-Hah-Hanh-Hannah!!!"_

Tyran grimaced with tears pouring out of his eyes. The memory was so vivid, so clear. He could remember the exact proportions of the man. He also remembered, that there was only one man that day.

He could have bet his life that the man was still living today. He remembered his face. It had been the face of an 18-year-old man; smooth with green eyes. He had blonde hair and wore a green tunic. Tyran remembered his face clearly.

He vowed that if he ever saw the man again, he would kill him. He killed Hannah, his twin sister, his best friend, the person that would never leave his side, and his her's. That man would pay, with his life.

Tyran looked up to see the sun rising. If there had been a rooster around, it would have crowed. He looked behind him to see the rest of the caravan stirring inside the wagon.

'With his life.' Tyran repeated in his head. 'His life for my sisters.'

**I like this version of Hannah's death better personally; it's much more emotional, and it also sends a clearer picture. And in case you haven't noticed, Tyran isn't racist this versoin. That makes it fit a bit better with his personality: calm and collected.**


	3. Chapter 3:The Alfitarian Caravan

**OK! My third chapter. Hope you like it! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own final fantasy crystal chronicles.**

Chapter 3: The Alfitarian Caravan

The next morning was bright and sunny. They ate a quick breakfast and were on the road again. This time Mike was at the reigns, Tyran was sleeping in his bunk, Kris was on the roof, and Rob was sitting on the backseat. After lunch they saw a caravan in the distance.

"Who's that?" Tyran said from behind Mike.

When they got closer they realized it was a caravan full of Lilties in heavy armor.

"Hail, caravanners!" the supposedly leader said. "I am Sol Racht, leader of the Alfatarian caravan. Where are you from?"

"Hi, um, we're from Tipa. My name is Mike."

"I'm Tyran!" the clavat said, jumping out of the caravan.

"I'm Rob." He yawned.

"And I'm Kristine!" she said, seemingly gliding off of the roof and in front of him.

"Good to meet you! Is this your first year?" Sol asked.

"Yes it is. In fact we just started off yesterday. We're headed to River Belle now." Kris stated.

"In that case, would you like some training? Stiltzkin here is a seasoned traveler, and would be glad to help."

Rob jumped as a fat, oddly dressed moogle appeared out of nowhere.

"We would be glad for your help." Mike said happily.

"OK, but let's find a better spot." Stiltzkin remarked, looking around.

Tyran was amazed. He had never seen a moogle who didn't say 'kupo' after everything.

-:-

'Stupid moogle.' Mike thought after being criticized for the thousandth time. They were practicing attacking, and no one except for Tyran understood a word the moogle was saying. He was 'attacking perfectly' while Mike was 'too slow and attacking wrong'. Kris was next to him, so confused she was just waving her racket around wildly in the air. She called it 'creative chaos' while Stiltzkin thought of her as 'the worst warrior ever'. Rob was doing what the moogle asked, but was concentrating so hard his movements were that of a glacier.

"TOO SLOW!!" the moogle screamed at him.

"This is boring! We've been doing this for over an hour! Can we PLEASE move on to something, ANYTHING, else?" Kris whined.

"FINE! You three are hopeless anyways! We'll now learn focus attacks. Aim at these rocks," he gestured to the four rocks he had lined up. "Focus on your target and only your target. Then release your energy. Selkies! I expect you to do better at this then the clavats, so get your butts in gear!" Stiltzkin instructed.

'Great, even more of a reason for him to yell at me.' Kris thought.

She then focused on the rock and only the rock. She felt the racket in her hands. She focused her energy then…Balls of energy shot out of her racket, evaporating as they collided with the rock. Looking over she saw Rob leap over and crush the rock under his racket. A few seconds later Tyran jumped over to the rock, sword out, and completely sliced the rock in half. Mike did the same thing, except with his weaker sword he got it stuck in the rock.

"Hmmm… good work. I must say I'm surprised to see the successfulness in your focus attacks considering your lack of skill in normal attacks. Now practice a few more minutes, and then we will move on to magic." Stiltzkin informed.

A few more minutes turned out to be half an hour. By now Rob's rock was turned to ruble, Kris's had a big hole in it, Mike's had been completely cut in half and then some, and Tyran had little pieces lying on the ground.

"Now we'll move on to magic." Stiltzkin said, handing each one a fire magicite. "Do the same thing as with focus attacks, except focus on the magicite's energy, not your own."

Kris went first, being a natural with magic.

"Fire!" she yelled, her rock being engulfed in large flames.

"Fire!" said Rob, sending small embers at the ruble, causing him to blush after Kris's performance.

"Fire." Mike said, sending his rock into a fury of flames.

"Not bad, but Hot Chick's got the lead in magic." Stiltzkin replied.

"FIRE!!" Tyran yelled. Though his will was strong his effort was weak. He sighed as he saw little embers not much bigger than Rob's form around the chunks of rock.

"Here's what I see."Stiltzkin said. "Sword Butt fights the monsters," Gesturing to Tyran. "Clavat carries the chalice and uses restorative magic." He looked at Mike. "Hot Chick uses offensive magic," He looked at Kris. "And Retard protects the magic users." He smirked at Rob. "You can also combine magic to create a stronger effect simply by casting in the same spot at the same time. Now let's practice magic a bit more…"

The four of them looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. They looked back at the moogle who was still blabbering on.

"FIRAGA!!" they yelled, sending the moogle into a fiery inferno.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!" The moogle screeched, running away.

"Ahhhhhh… that felt SO good!" Kris grinned. The others nodded, walking back to the caravan.

"Is Stiltzkin OK?" Kris asked Sol innocently. "We had a horrible accident when casting magic. I hope he's alright."

"Oh that's OK! No harm done! In fact why don't you camp with us tonight? We'll keep guard, so you can sleep soundly." They nodded in agreement, tired from the day's activities.

­

After they ate dinner, they decided it was time for bed. Rob climbed into his bunk, only halfway noticing that they were still basically sleeping on old rugs.

"I am SO tired!" Kris announced, pulling a potion out of her bag and placing the bag on the floor.

"A sleep potion?" Mike asked, climbing into the wagon.

"Yeah. No matter how tired I am; I probably won't be able to sleep because we're going to River Belle tomorrow. So I'll just use this to be sure I sleep."

"Can I have some?" Tyran asked, pulling the curtain back.

"Of course! Mike, you can have some too if you want." She said, taking the potion from Tyran and giving it to Mike. "Rob, you want some?" She asked, taking some herself.

"Nah, I'm almost asleep already. I don't need a potion to get my sleep."

"OK, suit yourself." She then tucked it away.

Soon they were all asleep.

-:-

"What the?" Kris yelled as she woke up on the floor, waking the whole caravan.

"Why are you on the floor?" Rob asked.

"How should I know?"

"Maybe I should tell Dad not to make that potion so strong." Mike commented.

"Yeah that might be a good idea." Kris said as she put the blankets back on her bunk.

"Let's get some breakfast, it smells like the Alfitarians are cooking up a storm." Tyran remarked.

"Good morning!" Sol called.

"Morning!" They called back.

"Please, enjoy the breakfast we made. We didn't want our food to spoil, so we made extra. Help yourself!" Sol exclaimed, pointing to the mountain of food.

"Sweet!" Rob said, piling up the food on his wooden plate.

After breakfast they said good-bye to the Alfitarians and assumed their normal positions; Kris on the roof, Tyran at the reigns, Mike walking at the side, and Rob inside the caravan.

"Let's get our first drop of myrrh!" Tyran called enthusiastically from the driver's seat.

He snapped the reigns and the papaomus (Papu) brought the wagon back on the trail. They then headed for River Belle to get their very first drop of myrrh.

**Like any other fanfiction writer, I try my best to make sure my story's good. As always, reviews (Including constructive criticism) are greatly appreciated. **


	4. Chapter 4:River Belle

**OK, they finally reached River Belle. I will warn you however, that battle scenes take FOREVER to write and think of different ways for the battle to go, so I might end up skipping most of the place. I will make anything I do write as descriptive and interesting as possible. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy crystal chronicles.**

Chapter 4: River Belle

They reached River Belle in no time. When they approached the first gate which led into the heart of River Belle, they noticed three monsters guarding it, so they hid in a bush to talk strategy.

"Goblins…" Kris mumbled.

"How are we going to do this?" Mike asked, handing Kris the chalice.

"Here's how," Tyran said, assuming his role as leader. "Rob and I will run out and face the goblins. Mike, you make sure the goblins don't attack Kris when she runs out to keep us in the circle. Everyone got it?" They all nodded. "Then let's go!"

Rob and Tyran jumped out of the bushes, grabbing the goblins' attention. Tyran went to face the two approaching goblins, and the others followed Tyran. One goblin went straight for Kris, who was holding onto the chalice, but Rob and Mike attacked the goblin before it got anywhere close to her.

While those two protected Kris, Tyran took on the other goblins himself. He guarded with his shield as the goblin once again tried to wound him, only to be cut along the chest by his powerful sword, instantly killing the fiend. He killed it in the same time it took both Rob and Mike to kill their goblin.

The last goblin seemed enraged by its comrades' deaths, and charged at Tyran with its sword in the air. Tyran watched patiently while the goblin approached, and in one swift movement killed the goblin.

'Wow…' Kris thought. 'Strong. And not just his sword either'

Then they all proceeded in searching the goblins for anything valuable.

Rob found some gil, (Though no one knew it existed before he pocketed it) Mike found a design for a new shield, Kris found a fire magicite, (then relinquishing the chalice to Mike) and Tyran found an odd, crescent shaped stone.

"What do I do with this?" Tyran asked.

"Ummmmm… Oh! Try putting it here." Kris said, pointing to a stone pedestal.

Tyran placed the crescent stone on the pedestal, and with a loud creek the gate opened.

They went through the gate and continued through River Belle Path. They encountered some monsters and between Tyran's sword and Kris's magic, they were undefeatable. Along the way they found some gil, a design for a novice weapon, a design for bronze armor, an iron belt, a cure magicite, and another fire magicite. After a few twists and turns they stumbled upon a moogle house.

What's THIS?" Kris asked, looking down at the old, worn card in her hand.

"It's a stamp card, kupo!" the female moogle said, "visit other moogle homes and collect stamps, kupo! Then if you get it filled, kupo, we'll give you something nice, kupo!"

"What is it?" Rob asked.

"We… actually don't…know, kupo. No one has actually gathered all the stamps, kupo." The male moogle said.

"Oh well… that's OK! I guess we'll have to find out when we get all the stamps!" Mike suggested cheerfully. Then they left the moogle home.

"They were A LOT more pleasant then stupid old Stilzkin!" They all laughed at Kris's comment.

A few more minutes after leaving the moogle home they came upon a big stone arch. After walking under it they saw a big waterfall with a small pond at the end of it. At one end of the clearing had a myrrh tree.

"It sure is romantic, isn't it?" Rob asked, inching over to Kris.

"Yes, it is." Kris said, not paying much attention to Rob.

"It's so pretty."

"Yes."

"It's got a rainbow."

"Yes."

"We should kiss."

"No." Kris said, walking over to Tyran and Mike.

"Dang you!" He yelled.

Just then a giant **crab** fell in front of them, causing the ground to shake.

"HOW THE HECK DOES A **CRAB** EVEN GET THAT FREAKIN' BIG!?" Kris yelled.

"OK, here's what we do." Tyran said, getting their attention. "I'll see if I can't chop the thing's claws off. Mike, make sure everyone's cured, otherwise you and Kris blast the thing with fire. Rob, see if you can't find a weak spot." With that the caravanners assaulted the crab.

The crab was too active with its claw, causing Tyran some trouble. Rob made a big crack in its thick shell with some focus attacks. The crab was mostly focusing on Kris, who had dealt some great damage with Fire and Fira with Mike's help.

Mike was unsure what to do with no one needing to be healed and Kris's being occupied. So he decided to get its attention off Kris specifically.

He ran up in front of the crab who still had his mind on Kris. He climbed up on the crab's shell just above his eyes, causing the crab to notice him for the first time. He took his sword out and stabbed it in both eyes, causing it to screech out in pain. Tyran was finally able to cut the claw off, while Rob motioned him to come over to the newly revealed flesh. Kris and Mike then dealt a big blow with Fira. After the flames died down, Tyran dealt the finishing blow with a final stab at the crab's back.

­

"Yay! We did it!" Kris yelled.

"Now we can get our first drop of myrrh…" Mike whispered.

"Now it's romantic again…" Rob said to Kris while the clavats talked wildly about the experience they just had.

"Um, can we get our myrrh now?" Kris asked.

With a nod they walked over to the myrrh tree.

Mike placed the crystal chalice on the stone platform under the myrrh tree.

The tree seemed to shiver up to the tips of its branches, causing a bright light to appear against the blue-green surface.

Slowly a large drop began to form, and it grew until it fell into the chalice, the invisible barrier holding the myrrh in. The chalice was now 1/3 of the way full, and they had two more drops until they had to go home again.

Mike picked up the chalice and went back over to the group.

"Mail Moogle!" A moogle with a bag slung over his shoulder fluttered into the area. "Kristine Lophrine? Tyran Nygien? Michael Phyrein? Robert Jinell?"

The caravan claimed their mail and read it over

_Kris,_

_We miss you, and hope a year will go by fast. The business is doing well; Joshua is an excellent merchant. We know how hard this journey must be, so we sent you some gil to help along the way._

_With all the love in the world, Mom and Dad._

Kris giggled at the thought that she's only been gone a few days and they already miss her.

Tyran opened his mail, a pendent falling out. He gasped slightly as he picked up Hannah's pendent. Its blue gem had been reflected in her eyes, which went well with her sandy blonde hair. Slowly, he read the letter.

_Tyran,_

_We know you didn't want it before, but now it is not your choice. We all know Hannah wanted to go on the caravan just as much as you, so we're making sure she gets the chance. Take her pendent with you, don't you dare send it back. Protect your caravan like you would her._

_Take care, Dad._

Tyran held the silver pendent in his hand. He ran his fingers over the six-pointed star that was the pendent. 'I will always keep you with me, Hannah, like you did this pendent.'

_Mike,_

_Good-luck. I could have gone on the caravan, but my role is here as an alchemist, not as a caravanner. Don't you dare die, I'll kill you if you do. Anyway, here's an energy potion I've been working on, I just need you to run it though a test drive. You have to use real energy in order for us to know if it really works or not. Whatever, see ya little bro._

_Karen_

_Rob,_

_Hey, how's the view? And of COURSE I mean River Belle! Haha! Anyway, here's a recipe for Dad's fish, put it to good use. Bye!_

_Jackson_

They sent their replies back, then watched the little creature flutter off.

"Where to next?" Rob asked.

"Mushroom Forest." Tyran said.

Then they headed back to their wagon, ready for dinner.

-:-

"We got to River Belle so fast!" Kris said as they watched the sunset.

"Actually, it's only natural. It's only a couple miles from Tipa. Getting to Mushroom Forest will take about four months." Tyran pointed out.

"Ahhhhnn! Not fair! I wanted to get to Mushroom Forest to get more myrrh! Oh well… I guess I'll just have to wait."

"Anyway, what did you guys get in your mail? My brother said good luck and gave me a recipe fish." Rob lied.

"My mom sent me some more gil." Kris said, adding on to the conversation.

"My family sent me an energy potion, saying they wanted me to test it, though I think I'll hesitate on trying it." Mike said. "What about you Tyran? What did your parents send you?"

"Ummmmmm…" Tyran thought about what he wanted to tell them, not wanting them to know his parents had sent him Hannah's pendent, which she had worn every day until she died. "My parents sent me some gil and told me they hoped I had fun."

"Well I think it's time to pack it in. we've had a long day and we deserve a rest. Whose turn is it to stand guard?" Tyran asked. "Kris?"

"Yah, yah, yah."

­

Rob, Mike, and Tyran climbed into the caravan, leaving Kris outside, the sun slowly dipping down into the earth.

"Goodnight." Kris said.

"Goodnight!"

Kris took a good look at the selkie symbol pendent her parents had given her.

'Still waiting for a gem…' She fingered the pendent so it would catch the diminishing light, giving it a soft golden glow. She silently slipped the pendent back into a small bag her friend had made her.

'Some day I will have a perfect pendent.'

**Hehehe. Yes. I changed the two "crap"s to "CRAB". XD Kris is really one of my favorite characters, so if I focus on her too much just tell me. Reviews! Please review. It'll make me happy to know someone likes my story. **


	5. Chapter 5:Miasma stream & Marr's Pass

**OK! With one drop of myrrh they finally reach the miasma stream. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. (I don't think anyone should be able to sue us anyway. This IS FAN fiction. It's not like we're going around saying 'look at MY story!' Anyway, on with the story.**

Chapter 5: Miasma Stream & Marr's Pass

Four months later the caravan was nearing the miasma stream. By now they had all been accidentally out of the crystal's protective circle, and they all knew what it was like to be temporarily suffocated. NONE of them were looking forward to going through the stream, but they knew they had to. They soon saw the entrance to the miasma stream.

Kris shivered as a chill went down her spine. "We have to go through, hunh?" No one answered.

"How are we GOING to go through it?" Rob asked.

"We should probably send Papu through first, right?" Mike asked anyone who would answer.

"Yes, we'll have Papu go through first, then we follow after. Make sure everything is secure, we don't want anything to fall off." Tyran said as he inspected the caravan.

Slap! Tyran sent the wagon forward. "I'll carry the chalice through it."

They then stood around for a while, and Kris inspected a sign next to the stream.

It read 'Beware! Miasma stream! In case you haven't already figured that out…'

"All right, let's go." Tyran announced.

None of them had ever been in a miasma stream before, and they didn't know how powerful they could be.

As soon as they stepped into the stream, Rob felt as if he would vomit. The miasma was STRONG. Even though it didn't have the choking sensation, it felt as if it turned him inside out. He ached all over, and he wanted to turn back.

When Tyran stepped inside, he almost dropped the chalice in pain. The miasma storm, even though the crystal kept it out, seemed to tear him apart.

Kris blacked out when they stepped inside, but the miasma was so strong it kept her standing, so no one noticed. It felt good to black out, for a few seconds she didn't feel pain. But when she came to, it felt as if thousands of the world's sharpest blades were attacking her all at once.

Mike went numb from the miasma. He stumbled forward, trying not to fall. Though he couldn't feel the ground beneath him, he felt the pain from the miasma.

They slowly went forward, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the pain. The crystal was fighting the miasma storm, and none of them wanted to even think about what it felt like OUTSIDE of the crystal's protection.

"We're almost there!" Tyran yelled, running forward, forcing them to follow. They didn't know what he was talking about, for there was no exit as far as they could see.

Suddenly the crystal's barrier began to shine. Its glow began to brighten, and with one burst shone like never before. The feeling from the miasma storm was gone.

Rob ran over to the edge of the pathway and threw up. Kris fainted, landing flat on the ground. Tyran lay on the ground, catching his breath. Mike tripped, suddenly getting his feeling back.

For a few minutes they lay there, re-gaining their energy. Then they went through the rest of the miasma stream peacefully.

­

"We're finally out!" Kris squealed in delight.

"Yes, finally." Mike sighed.

"We're going to have go through it again on the way back, and there are other miasma streams too." Tyran said. "I'm going to take a nap. Who wants to drive?"

"I will." Rob volunteered. 'I won't be able to sleep with the nausea anyway.'

They all got some sleep while he drove.

'Tyran said we would get to Marr's Pass in a few days. What if I get us there earlier? Then Kris might be impressed.'

He slapped the reigns hard, and Papu went more than 2x faster then she had been going previously. At sunset he saw the image of Marr's Pass on the horizon. He slowed Papu down, who was breathing heavily. A few minutes later everyone woke up.

"Hey Tyran!" Rob yelled behind him. "I thought you said we wouldn't get to Marr's Pass for another few more days!"

"What?" They all looked to see. Sure enough, the town was sitting in the distance.

"Yes! Finally, Marr's Pass!" Kris exclaimed. "Now we can fix up our caravan! I'm going to have to do some major shopping too!"

They trundled forward, and in no time got to Marr's Pass. They parked in an area set apart for caravans, and they all got a good night's rest.

-:-

In the morning Kris got up before anyone. She quickly ate a striped apple and headed into town. When she returned everyone was awake and had just finished breakfast.

"Where have you been?" Rob asked.

"I went into town to get a guy to come fix up our wagon. He said he would come by at ten." Kris answered.

"Oh."

"I also got some shopping done. I got a new iron belt, some materials, and some food. Now you guys can get some stuff done, and I'll stay and watch the caravan. OK?" She then hopped into the wagon.

­

The boys then left for town. Tyran got a bronze plate to replace his travel clothes, Mike got a frost shield, and Rob got a solid racket. When they got back they saw that the wagon had been fixed up.

The driver's seat now had a hood over it and had cushioned seats. Inside the old bunks had been torn out and replaced with new ones with strong, sturdy wood and mattresses with soft sheets and blankets. They were now both the same size, each one taking up 1/3 of the wagon's inside space.

The roof also had been replaced with very strong, yet soft wood, much to Kris's delight. They would still need to use a tarp when it rained, but that wasn't very hard to do. The wheels also had been replaced with ones that wouldn't creak.

"OK cough it up." Kris said with her hand out.

"What?" Rob said.

"I mean, this costs 1500 gil, so give me some gil or I'm going to kill you."

"1500gil!"

"Yeah. The wheels cost 100 gil each, the roof cost 300, the bunk FRAMES cost 200, the mattresses and blankets cost 300, the driver's seat area cost 100, and the labor and tip cost 100." She said, hands on her hips.

The boys gathered as much gil as they could find to pay the portion they owed.

"Thank-you!" She said, hiding the gil.

They each tried out their new bunk. The mattresses were soft, and the blankets were smooth. A GREAT improvement to before.

They then just enjoyed the rest of the day in town, for tomorrow they would head for Mushroom Forest.

**In case you haven't already figured this out, the next chapter takes place in Mushroom Forest. **


	6. Chapter 6:Mushroom Forest

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, I like it anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles**

Chapter 6: Mushroom Forest

The road to Mushroom Forest was fairly quiet. There were no other people on the road, and the monsters seemed too lazy to even bother with a bunch of caravanners who would probably kick their butts anyway. After a month of boring quiet, they were finally about to reach Mushroom Forest.

'Only a few hours away…' Kris thought as she lay on the roof. 'I'm so glad it's warm out, Mushroom Forest will be great. It's so fun to kick monsters butts.'

They hit a bump in the road, causing Kris to wake up from her sleepy daze.

Rob was in the wagon finishing a striped apple since he was still hungry even though they had just had lunch.

Mike was sitting next to Tyran, talking about Mushroom Forest.

"STOP! And surrender all of your valuables!" A reddish-pink haired selkie, a striped moogle, and a very old selkie man said from in front of the caravan. Everyone looked at them except for Kris, who was still lying on the roof.

"And just WHO might you be?" She called from the roof.

"What? Boss, they don't know who we are!" the moogle said.

"Humph! We're the famous Striped Brigands! Now give us all of your goods!" the boy said.

Kris jumped off the roof, landing right in front of him, causing him to flinch slightly.

"Never heard of 'em." She said in a slightly mocking voice, making the boy mad.

He pulled out a knife and grabbed Kris, putting his knife a good ways away from Kris's throat.

"Now give us all of your valuables!" He said threateningly.

Before anyone in the caravan could budge, Kris calmly elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to let go of her with a little cry of pain. He sat in the dirt, holding his stomach.

Kris calmly went inside the wagon, returning with her racket.

"Arrrgggg!!" She yelled, beating him to a pulp. "That'll-teach-you-to-mess-with-me!!" She yelled between beatings. Soon they limped off, leaving the caravan alone again.

The boys just stared in amazement as she returned her racket.

"What?" she said as she climbed back onto the roof.

Tyran just shook his head in amazement as he snapped the reigns. 'Note to self- DON'T GET KRIS MAD!'

'Awwwww man! She is SO hot when she's mad!' Rob thought, returning to his bunk.

'Man, she was so… calm, or at least until she got her racket, THEN she went a little ballistic. It was pretty funny to watch though.' Mike thought, totally unaware that Tyran was nudging him.

"Mike. Mike!" Tyran said, annoyed.

"Hunh, what?"

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"Ugh! How tall do you think the mushrooms are in Mushroom Forest?"

"Oh. I've heard they're over ten feet tall, but otherwise I'm not sure. I'll check when we get there, OK?"

"You don't have to! I was just asking! Anyways…" They then started off on a conversation about everyone back at Tipa. Kris continued to work on her tan, and Rob took a nap. In an hour they saw the shape of mushrooms off in the distance.

-:-

"Over ten feet tall, you're telling me!" Tyran said when they got to Mushroom Forest.

The mushrooms were not only ten feet tall, but they were about TWENTY feet tall.

"They stink!" Rob said with his nose plugged.

"Well you better get used to it, 'cause we're gonna be here awhile." Tyran said.

"Can we hurry up and go? After beating up those Striped retards, I'm pumped!" Kris said in full gear.

"We can't go without a plan though." Mike commented.

"Why not do what we did before? I'll hold the chalice until we find some magicite; Tyran leads and you two protect me. Simple." Kris said with her racket on her back and the chalice in hand.

"Alright then, we'll go with that. Now let's find that Myrrh Tree!" Tyran said, leading the way.

After only a couple minutes in the forest they were attacked by monsters. A few Mu's popped up out of the ground and a goblin jumped out from behind a giant mushroom.

Mike and Rob stood guard by Kris while Tyran easily took the monsters out with his sword.

From the monsters they found a design for some armor, gil, and a chunk of metal.

They continued on, surprised by the quietness of the trail. They wondered onto a large mushroom at ground level and, to the group's surprise, were launched over to the other trail.

"Well, that was DEFFIDENTLY unexpected." Rob said.

"Let's just go," Kris said, making sure she still had her magicite.

"Yeah." Mike then loosened his grip on his blizzard.

­

They walked a little further and soon the only thing they could see were mushrooms. The road had been so quiet that the caravanners dropped their guard. Suddenly they were surrounded by monsters.

"Awwww, crap!" Kris whined.

There was an Ochiro in front of them. There was also a weird one-eyed thing flying (Ahriman) behind them that they had yet to notice. Tons of Mu's and goblins surrounded them.

Kris took out her fire while Mike grabbed his blizzard. Tyran watched the Ochiro while Rob kept the two magic users in the middle.

The monsters stood still for a moment, then suddenly attacked.

Tyran killed all who came his way, Mike and Kris prepared their spells as fast as they could while Rob protected them as they cast.

The Ahriman had still gone on unnoticed and seized the opportunity as the caravanners were occupied.

It swooped down and grabbed Tyran by the shoulders with its clawed feet. It screeched with delight as Tyran yelled in surprise, distracting his caravan, causing them to be wounded by the on slot of monsters.

The Ahriman flew a little ways away as Tyran regained his composure.

'What the?' Tyran could breathe perfectly fine. He looked down to see Hannah's pendent glowing. "H-Hannah?"

They were flying over a large group of mushrooms, and Tyran seizing the opportunity as an extremely tall mushroom came into view, sliced at the Ahriman's legs.

One… two… Three! He cut one of the legs, causing the Ahriman to screech.

'Lower… lower… now!' He sliced off the other leg, and tumbled onto the top of the mushroom. He rolled down and stabbed at the surface, his sword sliding through the mushroom as the Ahriman flew off. He reached the end of the pad, his sword finally sticking.

He struggled at the hold, grimacing as he tried to support his weight with his arms. Finally he fell from the 25-foot mushroom, landing on his back. He quickly rolled over as his sword fell after him. It fell a few feet to the left of him, standing in the ground.

"Phew, that was close." He tugged at his sword and stumbled back a little as it finally came out. He looked behind him through the clearing at a small little plant thing that was staring at him.

The tiny little pant thing suddenly wasn't so tiny anymore. It sucked in the nutrients from the surrounding mushrooms and it grew into a huge, full-grown Malboro.

"Dang it." He faced the creature with sword in hand. Suddenly, he heard a cry and the rest of his caravan came into view. They had bruises and cuts everywhere, especially Kris who didn't really wear much of anything being a selkie.

The Malboro's tentacles shot out of the ground as soon as the caravan rejoined. Tyran sliced at the tentacles while Mike healed the caravan. Tyran then charged the creature along with Rob. As they approached the Malboro let out a horrendous bad breath, stopping the two who were shielding their faces.

As soon as the stench was gone Mike cleared them, while Kris shot out a fire. The Malboro squealed and shot a tentacle at Mike, who battled it the best he could. It wrapped around him and attempted to bring him closer to its mouth but Tyran sliced it off before he got anywhere close to the opening.

Mike then continued to heal the members of the caravan while the rest of them pounded on the beast. Finally, all at once the whole caravan aimed focus attacks at the Malboro. They collided into it in unity and with one last squeal the Malboro collapsed and disappeared into thin air.

They all cheered and after another good healing headed toward the myrrh tree. This time Kris placed the chalice at the pedestal and they watched.

Once again the Myrrh tree shivered up to its branches, casting a light on the turquoise surface. A drop of myrrh formed at the tips and fell into the crystal chalice. Kris walked up and picked up the chalice, showing the 2/3 full to the rest of the group, smiling. One more drop until they could see their family again.

"Mail Moogle!" The little creature then proceeded in calling out their names. "Kristine Lophrine? Tyran Nygien? Michael Phyrein? Robert Jinell?"

_Kris,_

_How's it going? Hope it's going well, otherwise leaving was a waste. Anyway, the town doesn't want any of you to die, so we made a pledge that if any of us found a phoenix down that they would go straight to you guys. But as you know, they're extremely rare and expensive and we still have yet to find one. Anyway, good-luck!_

_Joshua_

_Tyran,_

_We're so glad you took the pendent. We hope it helps you in anyway possible. Good-luck, here's a little gil. The farmer's girl just asked for some new equipment._

_Mom_

_Mike,_

_You better be getting up early sleepyhead! I should hope that they don't have to wake you up like at home! Oh! Karen's teaching me some alchemy, and I'm getting pretty good. Bye!_

_Diane_

_Rob,_

_Hey son. Good-luck out there, don't die. I hope you're keeping up with your fishing._

_Dad_

"Back to Marr's Pass?" Rob asked after they had given their responses to the moogle and he had flown off.

"Yes, then we go to get our last drop of myrrh." Tyran said.

They then walked back to their wagon, ready to relax after such a long day.

-:-

After a big dinner they went to bed with Mike standing guard. Tyran climbed up into his bed and pondered on the day. 'Could this pendent really hold so much power? And if so, why didn't it work in the same way with Hannah? She and I had once gone out too far from the crystal, and it didn't work this way then. How, and why?' With these thoughts in his mind he drifted off to sleep.

**A little twist and turn here and there. Hannah's pendant saved his life, why not her's?**


	7. Chapter 7:Mine of Carthuriges

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crystal Chronicles**

Chapter 7: Mine of Cathuriges

After the caravan had seized the opportunity to get supplies in Marr's Pass, such as: an iron plate for Kris, an iron sword for Mike, and an iron belt for Rob. Tyran said he wanted to save up his money for some really good armor, and that his shield would be enough.

Now, 2 months after they left Mushroom Forest, they were only one day away from the Mine of Cathuriges.

"Hey, I just thought of something." Rob said when they were just as they stopped for dinner.

"Wow, Rob ACTUALLY thinking. Maybe we should hold a ceremony!" Kris claimed, jumping off the roof. Rob glared at her.

"I was thinking about how Tyran was able to stay out of the crystal's protection so long in Mushroom Forest."

"You just noticed that? I thought we went over this the day after we left it?" Tyran asked, taking some of the harnesses off of Papu.

"Yeah, we did go over this- Oh! I remember! We were going to see how long it took Rob to notice. Sorry Rob, but you just flunked." Kris said.

"What! Are you serious! You jerks!" Rob said. "… So what did you guys come up with?"

The three of them let out a small string of giggles.

"Um, we said that the mushrooms might have absorbed some stuff from the myrrh tree. They are fungi after all." Tyran lied. This IS what they had come up with, but Tyran knew differently.

"Yeah, though it hasn't helped any other caravan that we know of, we think that maybe Tyran is special or something." Mike informed.

"OK. Whatever. I doubt it, but what you guys think is fine too." Rob commented.

"Oh, and you think it's something else?" Kris challenged.

"All I know is that before Tyran had that thing, the miasma hurt him just like us. Now he wears that thing all the time, and he's fine! What's up with that?" Rob said, gesturing to Hannah's pendent.

"Hey, I never really noticed that before. Where did you get it? I know you didn't have it when we left…" Kris questioned.

It was true. Tyran had just started wearing the pendent out in the open a few days before Mushroom forest.

"Yeah, where did you get it? I didn't really pay much mind to it when you first started wearing it, but now I'm curious." Mike inquired.

"I uh, I got it at Marr's pass." Tyran lied. Of course it wasn't true, but it was good enough for them to believe it.

"Oh, we didn't know that. Cool." Kris easily accepted his answer. Mike nodded, also excepting the lie.

Rob hesitated. 'Why is he lying? I know he got it before we ever even stepped foot in Marr's Pass…' Being a natural thieving selkie unlike Kris, he had an eye for treasure. He knew Tyran got that pendent sometime after River Belle and before Marr's Pass. He chewed slowly in thought. 'Ah, I'm not smart enough to figure out what's going through Tyran's head.' Dismissing the thought, he then turned to his food.

-:-

They woke up fairly early and prepared a large, proportionate breakfast that would keep them full for as long as possible.

They walked a little further on until they reached the mouth of the mine.

"I know I can do this, I know I can do this…" Kris muttered to herself.

"Don't worry Kris, this will be fun." Mike said. She glared at him.

"Are we ready?" Tyran asked them.

"Yes." They all said in unison.

The mines were very dark, only lit by a few torches in each of the large rooms.

Kris was so nervous her knuckles were turning white from her grip on the chalice.

_Snort._

"What was that?" Kris asked.

"Be on your guard. These mines are crawling with orcs, and that's what you probably just heard." Tyran said, brandishing his sword.

Mike did the same, and Rob grabbed his racket up off his back, ready for some action.

"Grrraaaaaahhhh!!" Three orcs ran out of the dark, stupidly arming their attacks at Tyran.

He swung his sword around, making the rest of his caravan back up, then jumped backward, his sword making a slight line in the dirt as the tip glided over it. He jumped across the ground, spinning and slashed at the orcs, pushing some of them back while knocking only one down. Kris and Rob fired a focus attack each at the closest orc, while Tyran stabbed the fallen orc. Mike held the chalice, ready to provide assistance to anyone who needed it. With two orcs dead, only one ugly orc remained. The three of them all shot focus attacks at the orc, colliding all at once, instantly killing the orc.

"Wow, you guys were great!" Mike said.

They searched the orcs, finding a fire magicite, a design for an iron plate, and some gil.

"Let's go." Kris said, wanting to finish the mines as soon as possible.

"OK, what's up with the cart?" Rob said, pointing to the coal cart.

"How should we know? Let's just bring it with us, just in case we need it for some thing. It might come in handy." Kris said as Rob gave her a confused look.

"Well, at least this place will probably have a set trail, unlike Mushroom Forest. So now all we have to so is follow the tracks." Tyran pointed out.

"This thing is heavy!" Rob said as he pushed on the cart, though it wasn't going very far.

"That's probably because it's filled with coal." Kris said.

"Oh." He tipped the cart over, and after most of it had emptied, he brought it back upright. "Much better!"

For about thirty seconds after they had moved on with Rob steadily pushing the cart, Kris pushed him aside and whacked the cart with her racket. It sped forward, and soon was out of sight. Rob looked at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

They encountered some more orcs, which the mine was overflowing with, hit the cart a few more times, and got some more treasures from the monsters. Rob was about to hit the cart again when Kris stopped him. She walked forward and pulled a lever, which then switched the tracks. She walked back, shoved him aside again, then hit the cart, sending it crashing through the numerous boxes that had been stacked up.

They walked into the next room, which stunned them by the amount of Bombs that were waiting for them. They had still gone unnoticed, so Mike and Kris drew their blizzards, which they had found in a chest.

They both focused, murmuring a few random words, a blue aura surrounding each of them. The room was small for the amount of Bombs in it. Kris and Mike were perfectly in sync, and when they cast, an abnormally large blizzara engulfed the entire room, killing all but a few Bombs that had narrowly escaped the magic.

Kris quickly killed one with quick-as-yuke magic skills, while Mike killed another with almost as good magic. Only one was left with a lot of health, though its countdown had already begun.

Kris and Mike tried to cast at the same time Rob and Tyran went to attack it. Their attacks and magic combined, though Tyran and Rob didn't notice at first and missed the bomb. As the two hit the ground on either side of the bomb, creating a large wall of thick ice on both sides of the bomb.

"Oops, sorry guys!" Kris yelled.

"No do that again!" Tyran yelled as he dodged an attack from the Bomb who was on the verge of exploding.

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Rob understood right away, both him and Tyran running in front of and behind the Bomb. They created a box of ice around the bomb, and just before it exploded they ran away from the icebox.

It exploded and they all were went tumbling backward, Kris's legs went just out of the crystal's circle. She quickly recovered and went back to the boys.

"You know it would be a lot easier to just kill it, right?" Kris asked them.

"Yeah, but it WAS a lot more fun, besides, it was great practice on how to improvise." Tyran said, holding his sword up to a torch in order to melt the chunks of ice on it. Rob however left his racket alone to power it up.

They walked into the next room. Which was extremely large compared to the other rooms. It had a large platform above another doorway, though the room was very dark.

They started toward the doorway. _Rumble rumble rumble._

"An earthquake, now?" Mike said while holding his shield up like an umbrella.

_Crash!_ A huge figure appeared before them, bringing up a cloud of dust.

When it cleared, the Orc King and all his ugliness showed itself to them.

"Gosh dang it! Do all of the bosses have to be so freakin' BIG?!" Kris yelled.

Then they got to work.

"Mike!" Kris held up her fire.

"Right!" The two were now in perfect sync.

He grabbed his blizzard. Blue and red auras shone around them.

The Orc King was stomping around with Tyran and Rob scurrying across the floor.

"Gravity!!" They yelled. Its feet were now glued to the ground.

"I'll be right back Mike, just be ready with your fire." Kris told him as he nodded.

"Tyran, I have an idea. Give me your sword." Kris said.

Tyran hesitated, but finally gave Kris the sword.

"Thanks." She put it on her back after trading him, and ran toward the Orc King.

"What the…?" Rob said, seeing her run by.

She jumped up on the Orc King, easily hoisting her nimble self up onto its shoulder. It was flailing around, but not getting very far with gravity still in effect.

"Mike, now!" He charged up the fire magicite, and within seconds it was prepared.

Kris swung the sword with all of her might. It caught the fire instantly, and slashed away at the Orc King's flesh around its jaw, now showing bone.

It screeched in pain while Kris almost fell, and Kris took a few more fire powered whacks at it. She finally hit it with one last slash in the back of the head.

Kris quickly jumped off the fiend before it fell, and slowly glided to the ground.

"Here's your sword back." She said, handing Tyran his sword.

"Wah, but you, how did you?"

"Don't ask questions Rob. Just look down in shame as the weakest member of the caravan just kicked that things butt!"

"Um, guys?"

"What?" Tyran asked.

"I don't think it's dead yet…"

They all looked at where Mike was pointing.

The Orc King was on its hands and knees, glowing.

"What the crap is it doing al-" but Kris was cut off.

Suddenly the thing exploded, slamming the caravanners against the stonewall.

"AHHHHHHHH!!" They yelled as the explosion not only pinned them against the wall, but also burned their skin. It slowly scraped them against the wall upwards, and when it finally stopped they fell from a high distance to the ground.

"Ah!" Kris said as she scraped her chin, elbows and knees on the rough stone floor.

"… I kind of wish I had gotten that armor right now." Tyran said, slowly pulling himself up.

"Is-ugh-everyone all…right?" Mike said as he tried not to think about the bones that were most likely broken at the moment.

"I think I officially hate this place." Rob said as he slowly got up.

"Kris, you OK?" Mike said, looking at Kris who was still lying on the floor, her bareback bleeding badly.

"…Cure…" She said faintly.

Mike tried to cast normally, but he had fractured his arm and could only move it in a slow, stiff motion. Rob, who was in the best condition, though the worst with magic, healed Mike as quickly as he could. As soon as Mike regained control of his arm, he quickly took the Cure from Rob and cast the best he could on Kris. She was loosing blood quickly, with her whole back torn and ripped apart. Mike wasn't fully healed, but his arm was working well enough for him to cast normally. He cast many times until her back was completely back to normal and all scrapes were gone, and she was standing like nothing had ever happened, then healed Tyran, Rob, and himself some more.

"Well, none of us died, and I DID totally kick that thing's butt. The explosion was just a sort of last stand thing before it completely died." Kris said, ignoring the fact that she WAS about to die a minute ago.

"We could have killed it without you taking that risk though. Why did you do it?" Tyran asked.

"You guys attacking its legs would have taken hours, if ,of course, we didn't die before that. I figured that attacking its head, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE BODY, would be the best way to go. The fire and sword combo was the only way to go though. My racket could never slice through flesh the way your sword did." Kris said as if it made all the sense in the world.

"Why didn't you tell us what you were doing though?" Rob asked, a little annoyed.

"I told the clavats, just not you."

_Sigh _"Whatever. Let's just get what we came for."

They walked though the door with Tyran holding the chalice. The myrrh tree was inside, standing in all of its glory within the dark confines of a mine.

He placed the chalice in the middle of the pedestal, adjusting its position ever so slightly.

The myrrh tree shivered up to its branches, the light casting a gorgeous glow against the blue and green surface. A drop of myrrh slowly formed, then dramatically fell into the chalice, which was now completely filled.

"Home." Kris said.

"Mail moogle!" It said as it fluttered over. "You guys are Kristine Lophrine, Tyran Nygien, Michael Phyrein, and Robert Jinell, right?" They nodded. "Good! 'Cause this place gives me the creeps! Here's your mail."

_Kris_

_You're finally coming home! I've really missed you! Joshua is so boring, and he's been picking on me with you gone! Mom told me to tell you that buisness is FINE, and to stop worrying about it! I can't wait to see you!_

_Sarah_

_Tyran_

_Hey son. We know you'll be coming home soon, so we want to let you know that any scroll you bring home I can make, and special requests are never turned down. I myself am working on a design for the ultima sword, and I think I can be finished with it and make it by your second year! I hope Excaliber is working well for you, but this sword will be even better. _

_Missing you, Dad_

_Mike_

_Oh Mike. Things have been crazy without you. Karen and Diane are getting pretty good at alchemy, and your father has been helping Tyran's dad with something a lot lately. _

_Miss you, hope to see you soon, Mom_

_Rob_

_So you'll be coming home from your first year soon, hunh? Not to be weird or anything, but I kind of like this girl in town. I won't tell you who it is. Bye._

_Jackson_

They then quietly went back to their wagon.

**I won't be mean and leave a cliffhanger, yet. I already have a pretty good idea of how I want this story to end, it's just a matter of getting there. **


	8. Chapter 8:Home

**Ok, this is a super long chapter, 5 thousand and half word's worth. There is a slight possibility that I might update a little late due to school and a little writers block. Anyway this chapter is long, some stuff happens, yada yada yada on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Final Fantasy, including Crystal Chronicles.**

Chapter 8: Home

Five months after they had gotten their last drop of myrrh, Kris, Tyran, Mike and Rob were near the entrance to Tipa. Kris for once was walking along the side of the wagon next to Mike, and Rob was on the other side of it. Tyran had a huge smile on his face, like the rest of the caravan.

A large bell rang, signaling the caravan's return. The whole town came out of their homes, excitement filling the air. The caravan stopped at the crystal in the center of town, where Roland had been standing.

Tyran stood, holding the full chalice in the air.

The crowd cheered, and Roland announced that the Myrrh Festival would be held that night. It was early in the morning, so the caravan had plenty of time to relax before the festival.

They were reluctant to part after having to stay in a ten-foot circle for 11 months, 3 weeks and 5 days. They would get about two days including this one to be home until they had to leave again.

Kris ran as fast as she could home, while Rob tried to race her. Rob got his butt creamed, and Kris threw open her door to reveal her family inside waiting for her.

"Dad, Mom!" Kris then embraced a much older Selkic man. "How's business?" She asked as she switched from one parent to the other.

"It's going very well honey, but aren't you interested in anything other than the business?" Her mother questioned after Kris had constantly asked about business in her letters.

"Wow, you've gotten bigger!" She exclaimed to Sara.

"Duh! I'm eight!" Sara said as she gave Kris a little hug.

"You've grown a few inches yourself Kris, miss 16 year old." Joshua pointed out.

"Well, either I grew or you shrunk, mister 18 year old." Kris smirked. Her birthday is in May, Tyran's is in July, Rob's is in October, and Mike's is in November.

"Alright honey, I'm going to make your favorite meal tonight, my super secret fish!" Kris's mom announced.

"Yes!" (Kris) "No!" (Sara) They said at the same time. Unusual for a selkie, Sara hated fish, while Kris loved it to death.

"Hey, Mom? I'm going to go see Luca, OK?" Luca was one of Kris's best friends, a raccoon tail selkie. She didn't go on the caravan because she disliked the thought of having to live outside of civilization. "Then I'm going to go see Alli." Alli on the other hand was the most tomboyish girl alive. The long hair clavat loved to fight and swing her sword almost as much as she loved to breathe. Kris was more like Alli than Luca, and Luca had an air of selfishness surrounding her. Alli would have gone on the caravan, except her parents couldn't lose another pair of hands at the farm. They harvested mostly wheat, which she loved because she was the one who got to cut it down.

Kris walked out to Luca's house and knocked on the door.

No answer.

She knocked again.

Again, no answer.

Kris peeked through the window. Empty.

"What the heck?" Kris mumbled to herself as she walked next door.

An elderly woman was on her porch in a rocking chair, quietly watching the activities of the little town.

"Hello child."

"Hello ma'am. Have you seen Luca and her family? I looked and saw their house empty."

"Ah, the Myrrnez family. I'm sorry to say that they moved to Marr's Pass some time ago."

Kris dropped her jaw at this. 'Marr's Pass, the town we went through 3 times? How come she didn't tell me? She didn't even bother to mention in her letter that she was moving? TO Marr's Pass?'

"Um, thank you…" She quietly walked to Alli's house. She knocked on the door, and after a few minutes the door was swung open.

"Kris!!!" Alli yelled, hugging Kris like the world was about to end. "I thought I would never see you again!" She finally released Kris from her death grip. "How's the caravan? Is it fun? Do you like any one of the boys? Is kicking monsters butts' fun? Do you like it?"

"OK, addressing each question in order; the caravan is cool, and yes, it is fun. I kind of like Mike: he's really sweet and nice and that stuff, and yes; and kicking monsters butts' is VERY fun. I like it a lot; I just wish you could be there with me. Oh, and when did Luca move, and why didn't she tell me?"

"Oh! I just remembered that I have something VERY important to tell you!"

"OK, you can tell me, but not in your doorway. Come on." Kris led Alli to their favorite place in the world: the cliff at the end of the peninsula.

The ocean sparkled as the sun danced on it. Near the cliff edge was a waterfall from the stream that rolled past their village. The cliff was grassy, with a few flowers on it. It was a cozy warm place due to the tropical climate.

Kris loved to feel the ocean air blow over her, each one felt as if it had just been given life. Kris, Alli and Luca would always come here to talk. It was their favorite place in the world.

"OK! Now… about what you said about wishing I could be there with you. I've been considering asking my parents if I can go this year. Ryan's old enough to help out at the farm now, and I'm strong enough not to have to be babied like I have no experience, because I have a lot."

"Seriously? That would be great! It would be awesome to have you in the caravan, and I know you have experience because that one time when we were thirteen and our village was attacked by monsters, you were the one that killed them all by yourself, BEFORE the men came out with their swords! Not to mention you've been the un-official town protector ever since, AND you can chop down five acres of wheat in ten minutes! I wouldn't be the only girl any more, and it would be great to have my best friend by my side!"

"Wait a second, I thought Luca was your best friend?" Alli teased.

Kris frowned slightly. "I don't even know why she moved, she never told me. I didn't even know she moved until I found her house empty."

At this Alli frowned too. "She…never told you?" Kris shook her head. "She and her family moved to Alfitaria because they thought this town was doomed to miasma, like our once neighboring village of Tida. They said this whole peninsula was doomed, due to our 'pathetic excuse for a caravan'. Even Luca thought this. As soon as you left she told me, "We'll all die. We both know what a lousy caravan we have. Kris can't fight worth crap; Mike's too much of a pussy to go into battle; Rob can't stop drooling whenever he's around Kris enough to get his head straight in battle; and Tyran's only good attribute is his looks. He may have some fine equipment, but he'll never be able to use it well enough to keep this place alive. Face it, we're all doomed and might as well be dead." Then she walked off."

Kris was looking at the ground. 'Well. She didn't move to Marr's Pass…' She knew Luca could be a real jerk in a lot of ways. She also knew that she disapproved of her going on the caravan. She didn't know she was so prejudice against their caravan. She wished she could wring her neck at the moment. Alli would never lie, and the look in her eyes confirmed the fact that she wasn't lying.

"I'm going to, um, go talk to Tyran…" Kris said quietly, getting up. "Please do talk to your parents."

"OK! Will do!"

It was strange to be so far away from him. He had been talking to Mike on a hill that overlooked the stream and the cliff on the peninsula. (Their special spot)

"Hey, um, Mike? Is it OK if I talk to Tyran alone?" She asked.

Mike immediately noticed the look of worry in her eyes, and withdrew swiftly.

"Is something wrong?" Tyran asked.

"I just realized what a jerk my once-one-of-my-best-friends is and was." Kris said, sitting down next to him.

"Alli?" Tyran asked, very confused.

"No. Luca. Remember, the girl who said that she would always look out for me?"

Tyran nodded. "What did she do? What did Alli tell you?"

Kris gave him a confused look.

"You know we can see you from here, right?"

She looked behind her and laughed. "Yah, I guess you can. …Um, she told me that Luca said after we left that we were all failures, and that we would never prevail in the world, that this town was doomed for destruction and that we would be the death of all the people we love. They moved right after we left, to Alfitaria. I guess they thought the world-renowned Alfitarian caravan could protect them so much better. Heh, how they, selkies, got in is beyond me."

"That's what's troubling you? Kris, I know she was one of your best friends, but it could be worse. Don't let that jerk eat away at you. Just let her go. She's not your only friend, and she isn't your sister or anything. Just, let it go. She's not dead, just a real pain in the butt. Don't let her ruin your festival night." He gave her a small comforting hug, causing her to smile.

"Thank-you."

"Anytime."

"I need to talk to the three of you tonight."

"About what?"

"A possible new member." And with that walked off.

'A new…member?' The words rang in his head.

"Is Kris OK now?"

"Yeah, she just needed a little cheering up."

Mike nodded.

­

Rob basically had just talked to his brother and dad about the caravan and slept all day.

Kris went home and spent some time with her family.

Tyran and Mike talked some more then went home to spend some quality time with their families.

-:-

Roland was giving a speech about our 'courageous caravanners' and talking about their task as Tipa's caravan while Tyran, Mike, Kris and Rob stood in line behind him in front of the crystal, the only light was the moon, and few torches, and the faint glow of the crystal.

Roland then began a sort of spell, which took the myrrh out from the chalice and swirled it through the air. The myrrh had a sort of glow that made the blue shimmer against the black sky. It swirled around the crystal, and it was absorbed as it swirled. When the last drop was stored, the crystal let off a new, stunning light that now lit up the faces of the crowd. The music then began, and people joined the caravanners as they danced and flipped.

Alli decided to join them, and they were a part of the festival until it ended at midnight.

When Kris started to head home, Mike stopped her, and they went to the cliff at the end of the peninsula. Rob noticed this, and followed quietly behind.

"Is something wrong Mike?" Kris asked as they sat down next to each other.

"No! I- nothings wrong…" Mike stammered.

"Well, then what did you want to talk about?"

"I uhh, I found something that I want to give you."

"Really…?"

"Yeah. I- noticed that your pendent is missing a gemstone. That mold in the middle looks… incomplete. So, I-I looked- I mean found! – This gem." Mike held out a gorgeous sparkling slivery blue gem that glowed in the moonlight.

"It's beautiful! Where? And How?"

"I looked everywhere for just the right gem. It had to be perfect; that's all you deserve."

"Oh, Mike…" She looked up from the gem and into his liquid brown eyes as they sparkled sincerity. Slowly they leaned toward each other and shared a kiss.

Below in a hiding spot with a perfect view, Rob's jaw dropped. Not only jealousy, but also a slight bit of anger flowed through Rob's mind. 'How could she like him: a wimpy, spineless clavat? How dare he like her! He should know better than to hit on his girl!' Angrily he crept back into the main part of the village to find Tyran. He pulled him aside and told him what he saw.

"Then they kissed!" Rob sputtered.

"Right… sure. And this makes you mad… why?" Tyran stated coolly.

"Kris is MY girl!"

"Yeah, sure… Well if she's your girl, then why does she like Mike?" Rob looked at him like he was crazy. "Uhg. Whatever. Just, deal with the fact that she likes Mike and he likes her OK?" With that Tyran walked off. Grumbling, Rob went home.

-:-

'Dang, I never talked to them about adding Alli as a member…' Kris thought about five minutes after kissing Mike, then walking off holding hands until they reached the festival area and departed. 'Alli! Crap!' Kris looked through the crowd, but didn't see her. She went to Alli's house to see her perched on the porch railing.

"Have you…asked yet?" She didn't need to say what about.

"I asked them at dinner. They told me they would 'think about it'. Man, the anticipation is killing me!"

Kris smiled. Her friend always could make her smile.

"I hope they let you; they better!"

"My guess is that they won't tell me until the last minute. I'll keep a bag packed just in case."

"OK, see you tomorrow!" Kris gave her friend a hug before leaving for home. Suddenly, it hit her like a ton of bricks. Alli might come with her on the caravan. Excitement suddenly rushed through her body, and she knew there was no way she would sleep that night.

When Kris crawled in bed, HER bed, she felt sudden relief. Even with that relief though, she still didn't find sleep until three hours later.

-:-

The next day at about four o' clock, (Kris had slept in MAJORLY) Kris and Alli met at the cliff on the peninsula.

"Have an answer yet?"

"No! They said they would give me their final answer at dinner. Now the anticipation is REALLY killing me!!"

Kris smiled as Tyran and Mike along with Rob appeared next to them. Rob was still angry, and he remained somewhat silent during the whole conversation.

"You needed to see us?" Tyran asked.

"Yah, about what I told you yesterday. You know, about the new member thing?"

The boys sat down, preparing themselves for the following conversation.

"It isn't finalized yet, but if you guys agree, and if Alli's parents say she can, then she will be the fifth member of our caravan!" The boys looked at Alli who blushed slightly.

"It's true. If my parents say so, I will be the new member of your guys' caravan. That is, of course, if you guys agree." Alli said nervously.

"What do you guys think? Majority vote." Kris said. "Starting with Tyran, please tell us your decision and state your reason for why or why not!"

"I think it would be great. It would be nice to have another member, though I am wondering what experiences you have in battle." Tyran stated.

"I have a lot of experience actually. I'm sort of Tipa's unofficial protector, and I'm a wiz with a sword!" Alli boasted.

"Alright, if her parents let her, I'm fine with her coming along." She had Tyran's vote.

"Mike, what about you?" Kris asked.

"I only have one problem with the idea. Where would she sleep?" Mike asked, stating a question they hadn't thought about.

"That's an easy one." Kris said. "She'll take the unused bed when someone is standing guard. Otherwise, we've had sleepovers before! Does that answer your question?"

Mike nodded, then they all turned to Rob.

"Not that your vote matters at all, but what do you think?" Kris asked.

"I don't know. I'm worried about having a dead weight in our group. I know she says she has experience being Tipa's 'protector', but that still doesn't mean she has the experience to plunge into monster infested dungeons and caves." Rob grumbled. He did actually oppose the idea, but the fact that Mikes vote was different made it even better.

"Still doesn't matter. Majority rules! If Alli's parents give their say-so, she comes along!" Kris cheered, and Alli laughed. "Besides; Alli has experience when when we left we had no experience to speak of. Alli's a quick learner, and as soon as she enters her first real caravan battle, she'll be the strongest out of all of us!"

"There's just one thing I'm worried about." Alli said. "I don't have any special armor, and all I have is a makeshift shield and a copper sword.

"Don't worry about it. When your parents give their answer, I'll personally make you some weapons and armor. With a little help from my dad of course." Tyran offered.

"Scratch that! We'll all help make you some equipment. Tyran has shone us some blacksmith tricks over the year." Kris said, while everyone except for Rob nodded.

"You guys can do whatever you want. This time of the year is to relax, so that's what I'll be doing." Rob put his hands behind his head and laid back.

Kris grabbed his ear. "You're going to help us make armor for her and you're going to like it!"

"Ow, OK, OK! I'm sure it's going to be the coolest thing to have you in our caravan!"

"Good." She released his ear. "We finally get to spend some time next to the ocean, so I'm going down to the beach. Alli, if you get to come, then you probably aren't going to have much free time. Come on."

All the members of the caravan including Alli went down to the beach and played in the sand and water for and hour. Then they went home for dinner.

-:-

"Ok Alli, we've come to a decision." Alli's mom said.

"You have? What did you decide on?" Alli asked eagerly.

"Your father and I feel that our decision is in your best interest dear; and though you my think of it as unfair, we hope you respect our wishes and do as we ask."

Alli's heart sunk. 'Unfair? Respect our wishes and do as we ask? Crap… there's no way I'm was going on this caravan.' It was six o' clock and the family had just finished dinner. "And?"

"We decided that-"

"I know, I know! I have to stay here and help with the farm!" Alli put her head on the table and buried her head in her arms.

"As I was saying, we decided that it was in your best interest to let you go on the caravan as long as you took most of our extra money with you." Her mom stood up and cleared the dishes.

"What?! Really?! THANK-YOU THANK-YOU THANK-YOU!!" Alli ran and gave each of her parents a big hug, then rushed over to the door. "I have to go tell Kris!"

"Wait!" Alli looked over at her mom. "Don't you need to pack?"

"Nope, did it earlier! Bye!" _Slam._

"Wow, I've never seen her so excited…" Her father just shook his head.

"Kris, Kris, Kris!!" Alli hadn't even bothered to knock, simply swinging the door open.

Kris ran down the stairs. "They let you!?"

"Yes!" The girls hugged each other and screamed.

"What the heck?" Joshua came in, noticed the screaming girls, shook his head, then went back into the kitchen.

"Let's go find the boys!"

They all gathered at Tyran's house. Miraculously they had all eaten, and they were now in Tyran's blacksmithing house.

"Alright, we leave tomorrow, so we need to get started right away." Tyran measured Alli to insure that the armor would fit comfortably.

Kris measured her height for the correct length of her sword, while Mike and Rob figured out how much she could hold well for her shield. Most blacksmiths usually didn't go through this much trouble, but Alli was a friend and would only give her the best.

Kris began drawing up sketches for the equipment. The blade was ground to chest on Alli, the shield could cover her whole chest, and the armor went from her neck to her thighs.

As soon as Kris finished the sketches, Tyran began to work on them. He started with the sword, custom made, and took some mythril from the extra materials in a locked cabinet. Mike used his Alchemy skills to imbue the sword to do elemental damage.

He heated it enough so it would stretch, then made a curved line out of it, then bent the edge down and curved it into the rest of the blade with a small amount of space between the two parts of the blade. (Kind of like Tidus's monster capture weapon combined with the color of brotherhood, though still has the sharp, silver tip from the monster capture sword, on Final Fantasy X) He started hammering it to maintain shape, then added a hilt and cooled it in a bucket of water. He retrieved the lightweight, turquoise blue sword from the bucket and placed it on a rack to cool/dry.

Tyran looked at the design for the shield and began working on it. It was slightly difficult due to the fact that it was smooth in the center and rough on the edges to prevent the weapon from ricocheting off and hitting either another person or some part of the user. It was made of strong, reinforced steel and was heavy but light enough for Alli to wield it with ease. Tyran had fused it with a sapphire to give it elemental protection.

While Tyran worked on the shield and armor Kris retrieved the now cool sword from its place on the rack and began to work on it. Alli had been shooed out of the smithing house before they started smithing to add the element of surprise. Rob was working with Tyran and Mike was helping Kris.

The sword was smooth and easy to work with. Kris inserted a small sapphire on each side of the hilt where the blade and hilt became one, then wrapped soft yet sturdy leather around the handle and secured it with small tacks. She took a design chisel and etched Alli's name in Ancient Clavation, an ancient Clavat language that was used during the reign of Rebena Te Ra that Mike suggested using. It took up about a foot of the four-foot blade.

She set the sword aside and started working on the shield. It was silver in color with a faint blue hue. Kris took out some special silvery white paint that would bond with the metal and would be basically permanent. She etched the clavat symbol into the entire center of the shield and wrote Alli's name in Ancient Clavation near the bottom of the symbol, at the tip of the small crystal shape. She painted the etched part of the shield, and took a very light, metallic-looking light blue paint and filled in the spaces between the symbol, including the crystalline look for dramatic effect. Other then etching a small clavat symbol with Alli's name in Ancient Clavation across it, (like on the shield) Kris didn't do much to the armor.

"OK Alli, we're done!" Kris yelled over an hour after they had shooed her away.

No answer.

"Alli?" Still no answer. Kris ran around the building to see the clavat asleep, at eight o' clock. "How can you be asleep!?"

Alli awoke abruptly. "You done?"

Kris just sighed. "Yes! Now come on!" She pulled Alli upright and led her to the front of the smithing house. "Now close your eyes."

Alli did as she was told. Mike, Tyran, and Kris lined up in front of her, Tyran holding the sword, Mike holding the armor, and Kris holding the shield.

"Open!"

Alli gaped in amazement at the equipment. "It's so beautiful!" She threw off her coat and put the armor on over her white long sleeved shirt. It fitted perfectly. She put her coat on over that and walked around a bit. "Other than the weight I can't feel it at all!" She took the sword and shield from them. "They're so light and easy to handle, not to mention the craftsmanship!" She examined the shield more carefully. "It's my name in Ancient Clavation! Who? And How?"

"Ancient Clavation really isn't that hard to write, and I've been drawing those symbols since I was six. Now the painting; that is a piece of art." Kris walked over and gave Alli a hug.

"You're awesome!"

"I know."

"Well it's obvious you like it." Tyran said.

"Of course I do! Oh! How much?" Alli pulled out a large bag of gil.

"You really don't have to pay. You're a friend." (Tyran and Mike have known Alli for even longer than Kris has, and they've always been friends, though not as close.)

"No, really, I do. These materials probably cost a lot, and all the work you put into-"

"Fine! I'll only charge for the materials we used. That's it!"

As Alli pulled gil out of her pouch, Kris pondered on how fun it would be to have her in the caravan.

"Alright, we're going to meet each other at the entrance of town at six o' clock. So get some rest. Alli, on this journey we sleep late at night and wake up early. I hope you're ready for it." Alli nodded at Tyran.

"I'm ready for anything this journey can throw at me."

"Good. Now it's time to rest. I know it's only 8:15, but you'll thank me tomorrow. Good night." They split up, and Alli went home fully equipped.

"I'm home!" Alli came into the house in full armor and equipped with a sword and shield.

"Wow! Alli has a cool sword!" A seven-year-old Ryan was sitting on the staircase to the second floor.

"It is nice isn't it?" Her father took the sword from her to examine it. "It has her name on it, see?" He showed it to Ryan, who got a weird look on his face.

"That's not her name! Someone scribbled on it!"

'Nice to know he appreciates the olden languages…' Alli thought. "It's actually a very old language. It says 'Alli Unagati' my name in Ancient Clavation."

"It's still weird!" He than ran upstairs to his room as their mom yelled at him for the thousandth time to get to bed.

"He'll learn eventually." Her father stated.

"Yah, eventually. Actually, my friends, the members of the caravan, made this stuff for me." Her father took a closer look at the craftsmanship.

"It's truly amazing. And this shield looks to be imbued of some sort. I had no idea they were such skilled blacksmiths." He was looking at the armor now, admiring the lightweight armor that had the strength of dragon scales.

"Actually, Tyran's dad taught him everything he knows, and taught his teachings to the rest of the caravan. He was the one who made all of the equipment, but Mike imbued the sword and shield, and Kris was the one who etched and painted all of it."

"Well, in every way, this is a beautiful example of skilled blacksmithing. But you need to go to bed now. Tomorrow is your first day, so you need to be prepared. Go on, get some rest. We'll see you in the morning."

Alli then took the equipment up to her room, and prepared for bed.

-:-

Alli awoke abruptly to the realization that she was going on a caravan today. She got dressed in the usual longhair outfit, then took care of the primary necessities and ate a striped apple for breakfast. She said good-bye to her family and ran out the door with everything she would need on the caravan, and was fully equipped in her armor.

She rushed to the entrance at 5:57, seeing her friends waiting with Papu hitched to the wagon and their things inside.

"I'm here!"

"Yah, right on time too." Kris smiled. "You don't need to be in full armor. Here." She took Alli's bag and put it next to her own on her bunk. She took her weapon and shield and put them under the bunk with the rest of the equipment, and took her armor, which wouldn't fit under either of the bunks due to size, and hung it securely to the wall next to the driver's seat with the rest of the armor. "All set! Now, we can't do anything like going on the roof now, so we get to sit innocently on the back seat until we leave Tipa, while Tyran drives and Mike and Rob walk on the sides. This only takes a few minutes and is over fairly quickly. Tired?" She asked as Alli yawned.

"Yah, a little. It is six am you know, and I couldn't sleep at all due to the fact that I'm so freakin' excited."

"Don't worry. You can sleep in a little while. I do feel kind of sad that you don't have your own bed though."

"Don't worry. As long as none of the boys sleep nude, I'm fine."

"Good, because we've already had repairs on this wagon. Didn't always used to be this nice."

"Yah, OK. Um, when do we leave?"

"Well, as soon as the clock hit's six, we leave. It has only been two minutes since you arrived, so we should leave in a few seconds. Tyran! Time to leave!"

"Gotcha!" They took their positions as Tyran slapped the reigns on Papu's back. The village yelled their final goodbyes as the caravan left Tipa.

"Now can I sleep?"

"Yah, go ahead." Kris climbed on the roof, Alli fell asleep in Kris's bed, Tyran drove, Rob did the same thing as Alli except in his own bed, and Mike talked to Tyran.

Alli dreamed of getting her very first drop of myrrh in the caravan, and fighting tons of monsters to save her village and become a local hero.

**Hehehe. Alli really is an awesome, lovable character, hunh? I like the idea of the new member, and it's really going to add a bit more to the story.**


	9. Chapter 9:Goblin Wall

**OK, I hope you liked the edited version. At least I thought it was better than the first. Sorry about not updating in a while, I kind of got caught up in school and stuff like that. I will hopefully have Chapter 10 up in a few days, but no promises due to two different schedules that have to intertwine just right in order for any editing and stuff to be done. My brother is my editor and he corrects my mistakes and helps me come up with better ways to write something, or just points out things that don't make sense. Now, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything crystal chronicles, though it would be the coolest thing if i did.**

Chapter 9: Goblin Wall

"We're almost there!" Tyran yelled as they neared Goblin Wall about a week after setting off again.

He sighed as he watched Alli prance around excitingly at the head of the wagon. Kris laughed from above as she watched the display. Alli was younger even then Mike, and her birthday was at the very end of the year, barely meeting the age requirements for the caravan.

Mike was clinging to the right side of the wagon, enjoying himself as he swung idly above the wheels. Rob carefully snuck a look out the window and saw Mike hanging next to it. He went over to Mike's bunk and gave the wall a hard kick.

"Wow!" Mike landed on the ground with a soft thud.

"You OK?" Kris asked as she jumped down with the caravan still moving.

"Yah, I'm fine." She put her hand out, and gratefully he took it. They smiled at each other as they still held hands.

"Kris!" They let go of hands immediately as Alli came rushing towards them. "We're here!"

They looked over and saw the mouth of a huge cave.

"Do we HAVE to go in another cave?!" Kris screamed.

"Come ON Kris! It'll be fun!" Alli argued.

"You haven't been in monster filled cave though…" Kris murmured.

They strapped on their armor and grabbed their weapons, along with some grapes and berries for extra energy.

"Ready?" Tyran asked the group.

"Duh, we're ready!" Alli called enthusiastically from the entrance.

The cave was dark, with the exception of the pillars of light drifting down from above. The large room was layered up and sitting at the base of each layer were rows of cells whose doors were large animal bones lined up and meeting at the top of their curve. Goblins were guarding each cell; and not only that but they were also marching up and down the isles.

The caravan hid in the shadows, invisible to the goblins' poor eyesight.

"What's up?" Kris asked. She looked over at Alli who was staring eagerly at the awaiting monsters.

"We have another member. Time for a new strategy." Tyran replied. They nodded. "So! Kris, no offense, but you're the worst fighter in our group," She giggled. "So you'll carry the chalice for now, and when we find offensive magic, you'll give the chalice to Mike; and when we find restorative magic, Rob will take the chalice." Alli looked eagerly at him. "Mike, protect Kris, Alli, you, Rob, and I will just fight off the monsters." Alli smiled happily at him. "Let's go!"

They crept out into the lighted area of the room. One of the goblins ran toward them, and they quickly jumped out of the way as it swung its sword at them. Tyran swiftly put his shield up as another goblin ran over and attacked, soon accompanied by a thunder flan. Rob ran over to help Tyran with the physically resistant flan. Alli smirked as she readied her attack at the first goblin. She pointed her sword at the monster, then jumped, landing upside-down with her sword stuck into the ground. For a split second she remained, then lifted her sword out of the ground as she spun back around, slashing her sword vertically, landing hard on the goblin, killing it instantly while destructive pillars of energy erupted out of the ground in impact.

"Wow, Alli! Nice focus attack!" Kris complimented. Tyran also nodded in approval as he combated the flan. "Need some help?" She picked up the fire that had dropped from Alli's goblin, handing Mike the chalice.

She raised her hands high over her head as the magicite glowed. She brought her hands together and brought them down in front of her face, eyes closed. She opened them, flashing orange, as a huge fireball enveloped the flan, killing it where it stood. Her eyes returned to normal as the flame died out, smiling as she got her first kill for the day.

"Let's go." She spoke confidently.

"Wait! What about the chests…" Rob said.

They looked at the cells containing various chests. They saw no levers anywhere, so they decided to move on and defeat the rest of the monsters before searching for something to open them.

They started up the path, but Kris gasped suddenly as something moved about in the shadows at the top of the incline.

A tail showed in the light, then another. They stood still is Kris silently prepared a fire. She placed her mental magic circle upon the shadowed corner, whispering words that were unknown to them.

A shriek sounded from the corner with the arrival of a fireball, then the beast sprung from the darkness, lunging at the group. Kris quickly moved out of the way, while Tyran and Mike instinctively put up their shield, and Rob fell backward in shock, but Alli was stunned, and the monster's claws caught her side, tearing through her coat.

"Ah!" She yelled. Kris looked over in alarm, while Tyran, Mike, and Rob took after the thing.

"You OK?" Kris asked as Alli grimaced.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little rattled. It didn't hurt me really, it was just surprising."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to these types of places soon enough. This is why I hated the Mine of Cathuriges."

Alli nodded, then looked down as the boys battled the cerberus. "You're gonna pay you freak!" She ran down a little and jumped on a large mound of dirt. She leaped from the higher spot and did a twist in the air, then tucked the sword under her as she dropped and plunged the sword deep into the fiend's flesh.

It didn't even have time to shriek before it lay dead. "DON'T mess with me!" She pulled her sword from its back and shook it a little to try to rid it of the blood, but not much happened. With a sigh she turned to Kris, giving her a smile. "I knew having you teach me those selkic moves would pay off!" Kris laughed, then looked at the monster. They were able to retrieve a cure and a design from it.

"Man, Alli! How the crap did a clavat learn that?" Rob commented. He had been fairly quiet for the past week, and was starting to accept the fact that Kris liked Mike. 'For now…' he hoped.

"Ah… I am in debt to Master Kris for teaching me the art of battle."

"Right! All I did was teach her some tricks that come to us selkies naturally." Kris paused for a moment. "Well, MOST of us."

Rob glared at her in anger.

They walked up the incline again, then turned and finally found level ground. Mike tripped over a large skull, and when he did so the cell door beneath them opened. Then they noticed for the first time that there was a row of skulls above each cell. They continued to work their way up, smashing the skulls as they went, and fought more monsters, including just one more cerberus, which Alli gladly killed.

They finally reached the top after climbing the many layers of rock and dirt. They reached the top to be greeted by a few new sights.

A large jellyfish floated toward them, electricity flowing through its body. Mike prepared his blizzard, while Kris held her fire close.

Mike was just about to cast when a bat flew down screeching at him, distracting him from his cast.

Kris shot a fire at it, but it flew just high enough to be out of reach. Mike noticed immediately and they cast gravity together. With the bat glued to the floor Tyran and Alli stabbed at it.

A shiver went down Kris's spine as something almost intangible touched her shoulder. She turned and let out a blood-curdling scream.

The ghost swiped at her, propelling her to the floor with its surprisingly strong force.

Lying on the floor she gasped in horror as the electric jellyfish floated above her. At just the right angle Mike cast a blizzard killing the elementally weak jellyfish instantly, Kris's face now flushed red from the sudden burst of cold, which also froze the ghost for a few seconds.

Kris shook herself out of her daze and jumped up. She swung her arm and when it reached top height a fire shot out at the horror. It recoiled, then swung around quickly, its arms flailing wildly, hitting Kris on the back of the head. With it right in front of her, Mike quickly healed her, striking the ghost also causing it to appear is if now solid.

Tyran and Alli circled around it, and they striked the creature from both sides. It tried to do its spin attack once more, but was completely blocked by the raising of shields.

"This is stupid." Rob said, who had been basically leaving all the fighting to the others. He ran over to Mike who was standing in front of him and pushed him to the ground to get him out of the way.

Mike looked angrily at Rob who finished off the monster with a quick focus attack. Rob seemed to be very cold to him lately, ignoring him as if he had a disease.

"What's the matter with you?" Mike yelled angrily.

"Oh, it was an accident." He said as if was obvious. "Sorry." He had sarcasm dripping off his every word.

"What happened Mike?" Alli asked.

"He threw me to the ground!" He snarled.

"Like I said, it was an ACCIDENT." Rob was frustrated that Mike would make such a big deal out of him pushing him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Ever since the Myrrh festival you've acted like I was a parasite! I just have one question Rob. What's wrong with YOU?!"

"Nothing's wrong! You're accusing me of something I didn't do!"

"Knock it off you two! Come ON! Stop acting like children! This is no way for a caravan to act! Can we please finish this place without killing each other? Come on, we're going down to get the treasure now." Tyran said, taking his place as leader to stop the idiotic fighting. "Sorry Alli." He whispered to her.

"Don't worry about it. We're like a family. We all have to fight sometime, otherwise what kind of family would we be?" She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He was instantly calm again. Her attitude completely lifted his spirit.

They went down all the layers again, collecting treasure as they went. They got a lot of designs, along with materials for them. Some gil was distributed, and a thunder was also found along with another cure.

Back at the top they stopped for a quick rest (along with some snacking) and quickly found a crescent stone slab. Kris picked it up and put it into its place on the pedestal. Some bones that had been arranged in a circular pattern retracted into the surrounding dirt, showing one of the only doors that were in the place.

They walked though it and into a large room whose back wall had a large design on it that surrounded another doorway. There was a raise of the floor-level and there was a spiked fence at the edge of the raise. There were steps lined with bones going up that led to a large goblin who was giggling like a maniac as he stirred something up in a big pot.

As soon as they walked in he noticed them, and he clenched his fist in anger. He used his staff and pounded the ground with it once, and suddenly from out of nowhere little goblin minions attacked them, the rise of floor level now closed off by the bones.

"Man, that thing is huge!" Alli pointed at the Goblin King.

"Get used to it…" Kris groaned.

Only two goblins came out at first, but every time they defeated a set another came out. Finally, as Alli defeated the fifth set some crescent slabs appeared, and they put them quickly in the pedestals on each side of the closed-off steps.

The bones raised and the King continued to stir his pot like a loon as more minions came out to fight them.

"Rob, Mi-" He stopped, thinking he probably shouldn't put the two together. "Rob, Kris, take the goblins! Mike, you're on healing duty! Alli, you and I will attack the Goblin King!" Tyran commanded.

Rob and Kris took out the goblins easily, which still came out in sets of two, and Mike had no trouble healing, though found eventually that the boss was magic resistant, so simply helped fight the goblins.

Tyran and Alli had trouble, for the Goblin King teleported every time they got close to him. Mike continually healed them so as not to run out of breath. When the King would start to cast even, he would still teleport away.

"How do we beat this thing?" Alli yelled.

Mike thought of his magical studies, and what certain magics could create. "Kris, I have an idea!"

"What is it?" She yelled to him.

"Alli!" Kris showed a confused look, though didn't question him. Alli obediently came over. "I need you to take this cure, and cast on the King with us. Got it?"

"Um, yah, but I'm not the best magic user…"

"That's OK. Just as long as you can cast with us at the exact same time, you'll be fine."

"Alright, I guess I can do that!"

"OK, good. Got it Kris!?"

"Yeah got it! What magic though?" She held up her fire and thunder.

He thought quickly. "Fire!"

She nodded and they all started to cast. Their mental magic circles met at the precise spot where the King was standing.

They all waved their arms at once, and stopped time symbols appeared around the King. He tried to teleport, but the stop was still in affect.

Quickly Tyran charged the fiend, while Alli jumped on her sword and attacked with pillars of energy. Rob fired Focus attacks at it furiously, and the magic users just pounded on it.

With a cry as Alli pounded on it with the pillars it fell and died, its staff exploding into a large fireball, causing the goblin's body to disappear along with the dying flames.

Mike quickly cured everyone, having some difficulty as Alli jumped around from the excitement of defeating her first boss and then gathering her first drop of myrrh.

They walked past the bubbling purple mass inside the pot and through the doorway under the design and into a grassy area which held the myrrh tree, Alli carrying the chalice, now calm and serious, though still had a grin across her face.

Carefully she set the chalice down on the platform under the myrrh tree, then watched in awe as the Myrrh Tree shivered across its blue and green surface. A drop of myrrh accumulated at the tips of its branches, then fell into the crystal chalice, filling it one third.

Grinning from ear to ear she held the chalice above her head, showing the rest of the caravan.

"M-m-m-mail…moogle…" The moogle shuddered, obviously frightened. "Um, Kris, Tyran, Mike, Rob, Alli? Please?" They nodded. "Phew… Here's your mail."

_Kris_

_Once again, you're off. It seems as if you were gone so long, then stayed for such a short amount of time. I hope you're having fun, with Alli in the caravan it should be even more fun. Good-Luck, I love you,_

_Mom_

_Tyran_

_That project I told you about is going well. Mike's father is helping me, and we've been very progressive. I can't wait for it to be done so I can show you._

_Dad_

_Mike_

_Hey. Hope you're having fun; the caravan must be nice. You're becoming so grown up now. It's sad to have you gone for so long, I feel as if I'm missing out on your growing up. Anyway, hope your myrrh-collecting season goes well. _

_Karen_

_Rob_

_That was fast. I thought you would stay longer. Oh well. Still not telling you about her. Oh, and um, you should be thanking me because if it weren't for me you would have never gone on this caravan so, yeah._

_Jackson_

_Alli_

_I hope your journey in the caravan is going well… It must at least be a little strange having all your comrades be more experienced then you. I hope you have fun. I've sent you some fresh bread; I hope it will taste good enough by the time you get it._

_Mom_

Alli walked over to the moogle who gave her the bread, and she checked it. It still had a bit of heat in it, and she supposed it had been specially delivered that morning.

They gave their responses to the moogle, who hesitatingly flew off.

"I like the caravan." Alli told them.

Kris giggled. "Yeah, it is pretty great, hunh?"

The rest of the caravan nodded, except for Rob, who just muttered something to himself.

Then they went back to the wagon, with Alli skipping the whole way.

**Ha…Ha! Alli's awesome in battle, and her fighting style was really fun to write about. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, to me it seemed a bit short though it actually is pretty long. Happy New Year!**


	10. Chapter 10:Festival

**Alright, I know it's been a LONG time since I updated, due to school, then my computer crashed, then I needed to find someone to be my beta (which I finally found one, [thanks! :)] and now I finally updated. Also, I have started an RP, which is accepting 3 more caravanners. (It is the Caravan of Tipa RP) Please consider at least taking a look, thank you. (**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crystal Chronicles.**

**Special thanks to Nathalie Cullen13 for editting this chapter.**

Chapter 10: Festival

Inside the wagon on the dreary morning the caravan stirred, waking as the sun worked to climb the mountains in the distance. Alli, the first one up, peeked through the curtains. Tyran had been up since the night before, watching the caravan. He had a large tarp in hand, making his way through the dark.

"Need some help?" Alli asked, stepping out of the wagon.

"Sure. It just started drizzling a few minutes ago, but from the look of those clouds, it's going to rain hard today." Alli got on the other side of Papu, helping Tyran fasten the tarp to Papu's harnesses.

When Papu was water-resistant, they worked together to lay tarps on the roof. Little by little it started raining harder, and they quickly went inside the wagon. Kris was on Mike's bed with him, sitting with knees under her chin; Mike keeping close to her to keep her warm, all the while being covered with both her's and Mike's blankets. Rob was lying with his back to them in his bunk, the rain making him feel groggy and tired.

They were finally in the Vale of Alfitaria, and were a few days away from the Lilty city. The city would be holding a festival for their Princess Fiona's birthday. She was their age: 16 turning 17. The caravan was taking a little break, and would attend the festival.

Kris recently had her birthday, and Rob gave her a ring to impress her. Little had he known that the ring he had found was a ring of fire. She took it gratefully and with a smile, leaving Rob with a smile as well.

For the time being they were all huddled in the caravan, awaiting the sun to come out from behind the mountains and warm the morning even slightly. They quietly munched on striped apples in the wagon while Kris used her ring to make a fire in her hand: creating light and heat.

When the sun finally shed enough light through the clouds to drive, they spread out. Tyran fell asleep in his bunk, Alli drove contently under the overhang above the seat, warm in her large coat, Rob fell asleep as well, and Mike accompanied Kris as she carefully mended one of Alli's torn coats.

As noon came, Kris made lunch by carefully frying vegetables and chunks of meat together in spices.

The day went by uneventfully, and everyone ended up taking a nap at one point or another.

The next day went by in the same way, with little hope of the rain ever stopping, though thankfully the winds did not blow, and the rain fell straight.

As they reached Alfitaria the next day, the rain stopped and blue skies were finally peeking out from beneath the diminishing clouds. The Festival was the next day, and the caravan enjoyed the day in the big city.

They were finally able to get supplies, and they also got some more equipment while Alli watched the caravan. Kris got a dual shooter, Mike got time mail, Rob got storm mail, and Tyran finally relented and bought blessed mail. They sold their previous equipment to make room for the new equipment, then returned to Alli at the wagon.

"So, does anyone know what's actually happening during the festival?" Kris asked as they sat in the dry grass around the wagon at around three o'clock.

"The princess goes on a parade through the city and afterwards everyone puts on music and dances down here, KRIS." A blonde selkie in a blue and white outfit says from behind them. She had a somewhat evil smirk on her face as her hands found their place on her hips.

"Luca!?" Kris and Alli exclaimed together.

"Took you long enough. I recognized you guys as you wandered aimlessly through town. Frankly, I'm surprised to see you alive, let alone be able to make it here unscathed. I'm shocked you finished your first year. I'm surprised to see _you_ though, Alli, you weren't on last year's caravan. Let's see… Tyran has the equipment that he can't use, Rob is the clumsy buff, Mike is the defenseless healer, (he has a small stock of potions from home for emergencies, and his family was sought after as a sort of town medic) and Alli can fight off all the little goblins that float your way. You must be the caravan's weakest link then, Kris, you can't do anything!"

"As a matter of fact, Kris is one of our strongest." Tyran defended, not caring about the insults to him but becoming aggravated that she insulted the rest of his caravan.

"What? You must be kidding. Prove it, Kris." Luca said with a laugh.

"You WANT me to fight you? I'm a caravanner; you'll be killed!" Kris said, only a little hesitant to fight someone who had once been her friend, but now was her fiercest rival.

"What, are you scared? I can't say I'm surprised. You probably won't even take a step into a dungeon without being dragged inside kicking and screaming."

That pushed Kris over her limit. She would prove her strength, and her caravan's capability to prevail in years. "I would never be scared of you! I will show my strength!" Kris' racket was immediately in her hands, and Luca looked pleased.

Luca went to her finger and pulled off one of her rings and tossed it to Mike, who caught it with a curious expression. "Don't want anyone to die, now do we?"

They walked to opposite sides of the field, soon facing each other with flames burning in their eyes. Mike was standing as referee, and announced that the winner would be claimed when the other either gave up or fainted, and that they could use whatever they want, magic or rackets.

'She's using a blizzard ring… the complete opposite to my fire…' Kris thought.

Alli was standing next to Tyran, who was slightly behind Mike to his left. Rob watched from a distance with a curious smirk on his face and arms folded across his chest with one thought on his mind. 'Cat fight.'

"Come on Mike, start the match already! I'm eager to have some fun with this weakling!" Luca taunted.

"You'll get yours…" Kris mumbled.

"Fine. Let the battle begin!" Mike dropped his arms, and immediately the two took off.

They quickly closed the ten-foot gap, running with rackets held in an offensive pose. They swung them, and the dual shooter and the butterfly head clashed, both girls struggling to press against the other's racket.

"Give up now, you might save yourself some trouble." Luca stated.

"Speak for yourself!" Kris growled.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Her racket was soon encased in ice that cold wisps came off of it. Kris felt a moment of panic as she realized her racket was frozen to Luca's.

"Darn you…" She quickly maneuvered her ringed hand, pressing it against the racket yet also showing the palm of her hand. "My turn!" A large fireball formed in her hand, and met the surprised Luca's face.

Luca was sent backwards with the two rackets, rolling on the dry yellow grass. She stood up and with a swift movement broke off Kris's racket and threw it a great distance behind her. "Let's see how you fair now!" Kris jumped back quickly as a ball of icicles formed in front of her.

Kris glared at her, then instantly a fireball formed in each of her hands. She put her hands in front of her, merging the two fireballs into one huge one, and blasting it with great force towards Luca.

Luca quickly jumped to the right, the firebomb colliding into her left side. "Ah!" She clutched her side, looking angrily at Kris with eyes of the devil. "You'll pay for that!" She ran toward Kris swinging her racket as Kris nimbly dodged the blows. She swung her foot across the ground, tripping Kris. Kris swiftly rolled backwards and did a back flip before Luca could pound on her. As she came up from her back flip she shot a fire at Luca, hitting her chest. Luca was breathing hard, not just with exhaustion but also with anger.

Luca shot a series of ice waves at Kris, who tried to dodge them. Luca fired one diagonally, and Kris stared with wide eyes as it hit her. She flew backwards, rolling with a stiff body through the almost knee high grass.

Alli gasped in horror, clutching Tyran's hand as Kris lay still on the ground, both her legs frozen, along with her left side and left shoulder down to her fingertips, ice creeping up her neck.

Luca walked over above the still form of Kris. "Looks like I won."

"Not quite!" Kris's eyes shot open, orange flames burning in them. A fireball grew in her right hand, extending larger than fira. Luca stood frozen in horror, and the fireball sent her across the field.

Fifty feet away Luca lay with a slight groan before she last consciousness. Kris lay propped up with her one good arm, gazing at the sight. "Now who's pathetic?"

Alli rushed to Kris's side, Tyran following a few feet behind. "You OK?" They asked.

"I'll be fine. Just make sure she isn't dead; I don't want her dead." They carefully brought Kris back to the caravan, while Mike continuously healed Luca, trying to repair her broken bones and scalded flesh. She woke up after a while, and crept home without a word after Mike returned her ring. She was still alive, and Kris sat in the sun, thinking about what she had felt when she rendered Luca unconscious.

"I just beat up Luca, and I feel good about it. Is that bad?" Kris said as they sat by the fire waiting for dinner a half an hour later.

"Of course not! She deserved it after everything she's done!" Alli commented.

"I have to agree with the clavat. If she didn't deserve it, no one would." Rob stated. Tyran simply nodded, and Kris looked thoughtfully at the ground. "Now, is dinner almost ready? I'm starving!"

"You're always starving, Rob!" Alli said.

"Your point?" They laughed, and Kris moved closer to the fire to check the stir-fry made with fresh meats and veggies. They continued to joke around as they ate, and went to bed with a feeling of satisfaction.

-:-

"Come on Kris, we're going to be late for the festival!" Alli complained.

"I'm coming!" Kris smoothly jumped out of the wagon. "Just making sure everything's OK."

"Please, the whole city's coming to this festival, don't be so paranoid." Rob told her.

"Let's go people." Tyran said, leading.

The streets were packed with Lilties, both young and old. The group worked their way through the people, and finally found a spot near the castle gates. The parade would go in a circle from the back entrance of the castle to the front. The caravan could hear the shouts from the crowd as the parade started.

After half an hour they finally saw the parade move down the street. Fiona sat veiled as Liltian guards carried her through the streets. They seemed to have no trouble at all carrying the beautiful young woman for the amount of time. Her head was slightly moving in both directions, scanning the crowd.

Everyone in the crowd was jumping up and down excitingly or cheering wildly. The caravan however simply stood there watching respectfully.

The princess continued to survey the crowd, then her eyes spotted the caravan. Her head turned, and the caravan could feel her eyes upon them. She stared at them until she went through the gates and the parade had ended.

Then, as if a floodgate had just opened, the city flooded down the streets toward the plaza.

"Come on!" Alli said, dragging them along. They followed the mass of people, and in the diminishing light they found themselves in the giant plaza of the huge city. Torches had been lit, and some people stood by providing music for the festival.

The caravan danced along with the short little Lilties; Mike danced with Kris, Alli had found Tyran, and Rob sat contently with some sort of pastry that had been made for the special occasion.

They finally decided to return to the wagon when the stars started to come out, a feeling of relief as took a day of rest. They climbed into their beds, and drifted to sleep.

-:-

The caravan roused themselves from their sleep as they heard a soft knock on the side of the wagon in the pitch-blackness of night. Kris jumped down from her bunk while the others stood silently in the aisle. Kris lit a fire in her hand and pulled the curtain back.

A girl around their age stood in the darkness. A red bandana covered most of her head, her hair unseen as it was pulled tightly back beneath the bandana. Her blue eyes were surprisingly attentive and alert for the time of night. She wore selkic clothes: a pink and orange shirt (if you could call it that) and a pink skirt with black shorts and orange shoes. She had on steel gloves that went up to her elbows, and was amazingly beautiful.

"Can we… help you?" Kris asked.

"My name is Alexis. I'm sorry to bother you at this time, but with the festival it is hard to find people. You see, I was traveling, but bandits stole my crystal, and I am stuck in this city. I have money, though it will not provide me with a rarity such as a crystal, and I wish upon your assistance."

"And you want to come with us?"

"It would be greatly appreciated, and I pay you for your kindness."

"Where is it you're going?" Tyran asked from behind Kris.

"The Fields of Fum." Alexis replied.

"I'm sorry, but we're not headed in that direction until next year, we have about a whole year until we set foot in the Fields of Fum." Tyran explained.

Suddenly an extremely distressed expression flashed across Alexis's face. "But I-"

Tyran cut her off. "But we can at least take you to Marr's Pass. We'll be passing through it on our way home to Tipa."

Joy crossed her face. "Thank-you! I will pay you each 1000 gil when we reach Marr's Pass."

Meanwhile Kris was studying the girl. She did not possess the air of a commoner, but she was able to fit herself at their level of social status. Also, she seemed odd as a selkie. The steel gloves she wore were used by Lilties, though the short blade at her side was for Clavats, and her clothes and grace in her movements showed her as a Selkie.

The girl puzzled Kris. 'Who IS she?'

"You're welcome; though I must warn you as leader of this caravan, if you do anything that brings anyone in this caravan harm, I will personally throw you into the miasma immediately." Tyran warned.

"Of course, I promise I will be of no trouble, and will help in any way I can." Alexis promised.

"Oh, and one other thing, we are short on space, and we have no available beds, so only three places are available for you to sleep: the roof, the floor, or outside. As it is we are already sharing beds, I hope you understand."

"Yes, as I said I will be of no trouble to you or your caravan."

"Good, we leave in around three hours, seeing it's three o' clock in the morning. Gather your belongings and meet us here before then; good-night." The caravan retreated back into the wagon, and Alexis disappeared into the shadows.

-:-

The caravan sat in a tired silence as they ate breakfast early in the morning while the sun's rays changed the sky's color. Alexis quietly approached them with a small bag slung over her shoulder.

"Good-morning." She said in a voice just above a whisper. They nodded to her, and she sat down next to Rob.

Though the city was large, it was still early and everything was shrouded in silence. Quietly the caravan packed up, Alexis helping where she could.

She seemed slightly shocked when she saw the cluttered wagon. The armor was hung on the walls next to the bunks; the weapons hung within the curves of the shields and through the armor. Crates of dehydrated food were stored beneath the head of the bottom bunks, along with a sewing kit, materials, scrolls, some blacksmithing equipment, canteens of water, milk and juice, items for personal hygiene, a few small games, some paints, a few medicines including Mikes potions, and all their cooking utensils were stored under the bunks. Their own personal items were on their bunks, or in small little pouches made from loose fabric that were tacked to the wall. The chalice was positioned on a small mat behind the driver's seat. The only area of space not used was the ceiling, for their tacks were not strong enough to support as much weight like a pot or a pan.

"You said you had to share beds, correct?" Alexis said.

Kris nodded. "Only two of us do."

"You could make so good use of all the ceiling space you have. You could make a bed frame out of really lightweight wood, and put a feathered mattress on the frame with whatever blankets and stuff you want. You could then mount strong hooks to the ceiling, and put a chain on connected to the new bed. Then when not in use just wind up the chains so the bed simply becomes a bulge on the ceiling." Alexis suggested.

Kris looked at her in amazement. "That's a really good idea Alexis. I don't know where exactly we could get that done for a good price though…"

"Don't worry about it. When we get to Marr's Pass, I'll give you guys some extra money for the new bed, and I'll talk the guy through it." She smiled at Kris, who smiled back.

'I don't know who exactly this girl is, but I think I'm starting to like her.' Kris thought.

"Alright, we're ready to go." Tyran said from the drivers seat. He snapped the reigns, and with a grunt Papu started trudging through the field.

Kris and Alli went up on the roof, while Alexis decided to stay inside with Rob, and Mike walked on the side of the wagon.

Alexis sat on Mike's bed looking across at Rob while he lay on his back with his hands behind his head.

"So why do you need to go to the Fields of Fum?" Rob asked, staring at the bottom of Kris' bunk.

"It's a nice place, and I have a cousin that I live with there. I love travel though, but it seems impossible now that I have lost my crystal, so I need to go back home." She answered.

"Tell me, what race are you? You look like a selkie, but you wear steel gloves and use a sword."

"Um, I'm selkic, but I would rather wear these gloves because they are more practical then dragging around a shield, and more protective than I belt, and I use this sword because it is easy to use though is sharp enough to actually inflict damage. So I would rather use these than use traditional equipment." She seemed a bit hesitant in the answer to her race, though Rob dismissed it.

"Interesting. Are you originally from the Fields of Fum?"

"No, I'm originally from Marr's Pass. I moved to the Fields of Fum when my mother passed away."

"I'm sorry, my mom passed away too." Rob said, finally turning to look at her. He could have sworn he saw tears well up in her eyes, but were quickly blinked away, making him unsure. Rob smiled, trying to comfort the stranger the best he could. Loosing a mother was hard, and his mother passed away when he was very young. He didn't like to talk about it, and it was making him feel uncomfortable. To his relief Alexis quickly changed the topic.

"What about yourself? Do you like about the caravan, and what do you like or dislike about it? When you get letters, who is it that writes to you? And what about the other people in the caravan? What are they like?" She didn't know exactly why, but she felt as if she could trust Rob.

"The caravan's alright. It helps you get closer to people, whether you like it or not. I like collecting myrrh; it's always fun to bash monsters' faces in. The food's pretty good too; better than my dad's at least. I don't like how there is almost no privacy what so ever; I can't even piss without them being around me in this ten-foot circle! My older brother and my dad are the ones who I get letters from when the moogle comes when we get myrrh, but sometimes a friend will write me in the in-betweens. Tyran is pretty cool, I guess. He's the leader of this caravan, but he seems to be acting a bit secretive. He lied about where he got his pendent- I don't know why but he did- it's special too. It has the power of the chalice crystal; or so I believe. The miasma can't touch him! I've seen him out of the crystal plenty of times, but he's always perfectly fine, and in the miasma streams he just walks through it while the rest of us struggle against the miasma storm."

"Sounds like an interesting person."

"Yeah, but he's alright."

"What about Kris? She seems pretty cool."

"Yeah, she is cool… She has a good sense of humor, but it usually directed at the wrong person."

"The wrong person?"

"Um, yeah…"

"You mean you, right?"

"Sort of…"

She giggled. "Other than that she's awesome right?"

"Yeah, she is awesome…"

"Alright then, what about Alli?"

"She's fun to watch, so giddy and full of energy. She's a great fighter, probably the best female fighter around. She doesn't like it when monsters get the best of her, she kind of freaks out. She's nice though, and she's nice to have around I guess."

"Sweet. Are Kris and Alli friends?"

"Yeah, they're best friends. There was this other selkie girl though who was a real pain, and a jerk at that. She lives in Alfitaria, and she ended up finding us the day before the festival in that dried up field. She made fun of us, and then Kris and–her name is Luca by the way- fought in the field. They were aloud to use magic, and Kris owns in magic. She tricked Luca and kicked her butt. She used a huge fireball and blasted her across the field."

"Were they both OK?"

"Yeah, Kris had to thaw a bit, and Luca's broken body was healed by Mike, unfortunately. That girl deserved a lot worse then she got."

"Wow. And Mike?"

"Gaw, he's basically just another spineless clavat. The guy's a good healer, but that's basically it. He's nice enough, but he's just another guy."

"Hmm, do you not get along with him very well?"

"How did you-?" He blurted out.

"Just an assumption based on the way you talked of him."

"Um, yeah, sure…"

The pairs continued to talk as the caravan trundled down the road. When night approached, they stopped and set camp. After dinner they sat around the campfire contently and talked in the black starry night.

"It's so nice to be out on the road again. I love to travel, and having company makes it so much more enjoyable!" Alexis said.

"Yeah, I love being in the caravan!" Kris said.

"Yeah, but I want to go to another myrrh area!" Alli complained. "I've only been able to go to one so far, and I'm getting restless!"

"Only once? Isn't this your guys' second year? I would have thought the caravan from Tipa would have started in their own area."

"This is OUR second year, but it's Alli's first. She had to help on her family's farm the first year." Tyran explained.

"Oh, that makes sense!" Alexis laughed. "Man, for it being night-time, it sure it hot! This bandana is annoying the crap out of me!" Her un-gloved, delicate hands went to the knot tied in her bandana and started to work it loose. She took the bandana off her head and shook her petal-like blonde hair onto her shoulders. She carefully folded the bandana in her lap, then looked up at bewildered faces. "What?"

"Your hair, it's like a Lilties, but you have the appearance of a clavat…and the symbol on your cheek confirms it…you're princess Fiona."

**Annnnnnnnd… Commercial! I hope the caravan doesn't sound too dull in this chapter; not noticing it was Princess Fiona the whole time. Just to let you know, the ceiling of the caravan is pretty tall, and the roof is super-strong, and can support allot. Just to clear some things up so people aren't like 'What happens when they hit their heads on the suspended bed?' or 'That roof can't support that!' In case you forgot, they got a new roof at the beginning of the story. OK! See you next time!**


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